2016 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN:

Donald Trump’s 2016 Election Night Victory Speech

Thank you very much. I’ve just received a call from Secretary Clinton. She congratulated us. It is about us. On our victory, and I congratulated her and her family on a very, very hard-fought campaign I mean she fought very hard.

Hillary has worked very long and very hard over a long period of time, and we owe her a major debt of gratitude for her service to our country. I mean that very sincerely. Now it is time for America to bind the wounds of division, have to get together, to all Republicans and Democrats and independents across this nation I say it is time for us to come together as one united people. It’s time. I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be president for all of Americans, and this is so important to me.

For those who have chosen not to support me in the past, of which there were a few people, I’m reaching out to you for your guidance and your help so that we can work together and unify our great country. As I’ve said from the beginning, ours was not a campaign but rather an incredible and great movement, made up of millions of hard-working men and women who love their country and want a better, brighter future for themselves and for their family.

It’s a movement comprised of Americans from all races, religions, backgrounds and beliefs, who want and expect our government to serve the people, and serve the people it will. Working together we will begin the urgent task of rebuilding our nation and renewing the American dream. I’ve spent my entire life in business, looking at the untapped potential in projects and in people all over the world.

That is now what I want to do for our country. Tremendous potential. I’ve gotten to know our country so well. Tremendous potential. It is going to be a beautiful thing. Every single American will have the opportunity to realize his or her fullest potential. The forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer. We are going to fix our inner cities and rebuild our highways, bridges, tunnels, airports, schools, hospitals. We’re going to rebuild our infrastructure, which will become, by the way, second to none, and we will put millions of our people to work as we rebuild it.

We will also finally take care of our great veterans who have been so loyal, and I’ve gotten to know so many over this 18-month journey. The time I’ve spent with them during this campaign has been among my greatest honors. Our veterans are incredible people. We will embark upon a project of national growth and renewal. I will harness the creative talents of our people and we will call upon the best and brightest to leverage their tremendous talent for the benefit of all. It is going to happen. We have a great economic plan.

We will double our growth and have the strongest economy anywhere in the world. At the same time we will get along with all other nations, willing to get along with us. We will be. We will have great relationships. We expect to have great, great relationships. No dream is too big, no challenge is too great. Nothing we want for our future is beyond our reach. America will no longer settle for anything less than the best. We must reclaim our country’s destiny and dream big and bold and daring. We have to do that. We’re going to dream of things for our country, and beautiful things and successful things once again.

I want to tell the world community that while we will always put America’s interests first, we will deal fairly with everyone, with everyone. All people and all other nations. We will seek common ground, not hostility, partnership, not conflict. And now I would like to take this moment to thank some of the people who really helped me with this, what they are calling tonight very, very historic victory. First I want to thank my parents, who I know are looking down on me right now. Great people. I’ve learned so much from them. They were wonderful in every regard. I had truly great parents.

I also want to thank my sisters, Marianne and Elizabeth who are here with us tonight. And — Where are they? They’re here someplace. They’re very shy actually. And my brother Robert, my great friend. Where is Robert? Where is Robert? My brother Robert, and they should all be on this stage, but that’s okay. They’re great. And also my late brother Fred, great guy. Fantastic guy. Fantastic family. I was very lucky. Great brothers, sisters, great, unbelievable parents. To Melania and Don and Ivanka and Eric and Tiffany and Barron, I love you and I thank you, and especially for putting up with all of those hours. This was tough. This was tough. This political stuff is nasty and it is tough. So I want to thank my family very much. Really fantastic.

Thank you all. Thank you all. And Lara, unbelievable job. Unbelievable. Vanessa, thank you. Thank you very much. What a great group. You’ve all given me such incredible support, and I will tell you that we have a large group of people. You know, they kept saying we have a small staff. Not so small. Look at all of the people that we have. Look at all of these people. And kellyanne and Chris and Rudy and Steve and David.

We have got tremendously talented people up here, and I want to tell you it’s been very, very special. I want to give a very special thanks to our former mayor, Rudy Giuliani. He’s unbelievable. Unbelievable. He traveled with us and he went through meetings, and Rudy never changes. Where is Rudy. Where is he?

Governor Chris Christie, folks, was unbelievable. Thank you, Chris. The first man, first senator, first major, major politician — let me tell you, he is highly respected in Washington because he is as smart as you get, senator Jeff sessions. Where is Jeff? A great man. Another great man, very tough competitor. He was not easy. He was not easy. Who is that? Is that the mayor that showed up? Is that Rudy? Oh, Rudy got up here.

Another great man who has been really a friend to me, but I’ll Tell you, I got to know him as a competitor, because he was one of the folks that was negotiating to go against those democrats. Dr. Ben Carson. Where is Ben? Where is Ben? By the way, Mike Huckabee is here someplace, and he is fantastic. Mike and his family, Sarah, thank you very much. General Mike Flynn. Where is Mike? And general Kellogg . We have over 200 generals and admirals that have endorsed our campaign, and they’re special people and it is really an honor. We have 22 congressional medal of honor recipients.

We have just tremendous people. A very special person who believe me, and, you know, I would read reports that I wasn’t getting along with him. I never had a bad second with him. He’s an unbelievable star. He is — that’s right, how did you possibly guess? So let me tell you about Reince, and I have said this. I said, reince — and I know it, I know it. Look at all of those people over there. I know it. Rience is a superstar, but I said they can’t call you a superstar, Reince, unless we win. Because you can’t be called a superstar, like Secretariat, if Secretariat came in second, would not have the beautiful bronze bust at the track at belmont.

But I will tell you Reince is really a star. And he is the hardest working guy, and in a certain way I did this — where is reince? Get up here, Reince. Get over here, Reince. Boy, oh boy. It is about time you did this, Reince. Huh, my God. Say a few words.

REINCE PRIEBUS: No, no, no.

DONALD TRUMP: No, come on, say something.

REINCE PRIEBUS: Ladies and gentlemen, the next president of the united States, Donald Trump! Thank you. It’s been an honor. God bless. Thank god. You bet.

DONALD TRUMP: Amazing guy. Our partnership with the RNC was so important to the success in what we have done. So I also have to say I’ve gotten to know some incredible people, the secret service people. They’re tough and they’re smart and they’re sharp, and I don’t want to mess around with them, I can tell you. And when I want to go and wave to a big group of people and they rip me down and put me back down in the seat, but they are fantastic people. So I want to thank the secret service. And law enforcement in New York City, they’re here tonight. These are spectacular people, sometimes underappreciated unfortunately, but we appreciate them.

We know what they go through. So it has been what they call a historic event, but to be really historic we have to do a great job. And I promise you that I will not let you down. We will do a great job. We will do a great job. I look very much forward to being your president, and hopefully at the end of two years or three years or four years, or maybe even eight years, you will say, so many of you worked so hard for us, but you will say that that was something that you really were very proud to do, and I can thank you very much.

I can only say that while the campaign is over, our work on this movement is now really just beginning. We’re going to get to work immediately for the American people, and we’re going to be doing a job that, hopefully, you will be so proud of your president, you will be so proud. Again, it’s my honor. It was an amazing evening. It’s been an amazing two-year period, and I love this country.

Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you to Mike Pence. Thank you to everybody.

And Chelsea, thank you. I am so proud to be your mother and so proud of the woman you’ve become. Thank you for bringing Mark into our family and Charlotte and Aidan into the world.

And Bill, that conversation we started in the law library 45 years ago…

(APPLAUSE)

…it is still going strong.

AUDIENCE: Hillary! Hillary! Hillary!

You know, that conversation has lasted through good times that filled us with joy and hard times that tested us. And I’ve even gotten a few words in along the way.

(APPLAUSE)

On Tuesday night I was so happy to see that my “explainer in chief” is still on the job.

I’m also grateful to the rest of my family and to the friends of a lifetime.

To all of you whose hard work brought us here tonight and to those of you who joined this campaign this week, thank you. What a remarkable week it’s been!

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We heard the man from Hope, Bill Clinton, and the man of hope, Barack Obama. (APPLAUSE)

America is stronger because of President Obama’s leadership. And I’m better because of his friendship.

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We heard from our terrific vice president, the one and only Joe Biden.

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He spoke from his big heart about our party’s commitment to working people as only he can do.

And first lady Michelle Obama reminded us…

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…that our children are watching. And the president we elect is going to be their president, too.

And for those of you out there who are just getting to know Tim Kaine…

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…you will soon understand why the people of Virginia keep promoting him from city council and mayor to governor and now senator. And he will make our whole country proud as our vice president.

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And I want to thank Bernie Sanders.

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Bernie, your campaign inspired millions of Americans, particularly the young people who threw their hearts and souls into our primary.

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You’ve put economic and social justice issues front and center where they belong.

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And to all of your supporters here and around the country, I want you to know I’ve heard you. Your cause is our cause.

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Our country needs your ideas, energy and passion. That is the only way we can turn our progressive platform into real change for America. (APPLAUSE)

We wrote it together, now let’s go out and make it happen together!

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My friends, we’ve come to Philadelphia, the birthplace of our nation, because what happened in this city 240 years ago still has something to teach us today. We all know the story, but we usually focus on how it turned out and not enough on how close that story came to never being written at all.

When representatives from 13 unruly colonies met just down the road from here, some wanted to stick with the king and some wanted to stick it to the king.

(LAUGHTER)

The Revolution hung in the balance, and somehow they began listening to each other, compromising, finding common purpose. And by the time they left Philadelphia, they had begun to see themselves as one nation. That’s what made it possible to stand up to a king. That took courage, they had courage. Our Founders embraced the enduring truth that we are stronger together.

(APPLAUSE)

Now America is once again at a moment of reckoning. Powerful forces are threatening to pull us apart. Bonds of trust and respect are fraying. And just as with our Founders, there are no guarantees. It truly is up to us. We have to decide whether we will all work together so we can all rise together.

(APPLAUSE)

Our country’s motto is E Pluribus Unum, out of many we are one. Will we stay true to that motto?

Well, we heard Donald Trump’s answer last week at his convention. He wants to divide us from the rest of the world and from each other. He’s betting that the perils of today’s world will blind us to its unlimited promise. He’s taken the Republican Party a long way, from morning in America to midnight in America.

He wants us to fear the future and fear each other. Well, you know, a great Democratic President Franklin Delano Roosevelt came up with the perfect rebuke to Trump more than 80 years ago during a much more perilous time: The only thing we have to fear is fear itself!

(APPLAUSE)

Now, we are clear-eyed about what our country is up against. But we are not afraid. We will rise to the challenge just as we always have. We will not build a wall; instead, we will build an economy where everyone who wants a good job can get one. (APPLAUSE)

And we’ll build a path to citizenship for millions of immigrants who are already contributing to our economy.

(APPLAUSE)

We will not ban a religion. We will work with all Americans and our allies to fight and defeat terrorism.

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CLINTON: Yet, we know there is a lot to do. Too many people haven’t had a pay raise since the crash. There’s too much inequality, too little social mobility, too much paralysis in Washington.

Too many threats at home and abroad. But just look for a minute at the strengths we bring as Americans to meet these challenges.

We have the most dynamic and diverse people in the world.

(APPLAUSE)

We have the most tolerant and generous young people we’ve ever had.

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We have the most powerful military, the most innovative entrepreneurs, the most enduring values, freedom and equality, justice and opportunity, we should be so proud that those words are associated with us.

AUDIENCE: Hillary! Hillary! Hillary!

I have to tell you, as your secretary of state I went to 112 countries. When people hear those words, they hear America!

(APPLAUSE)

So don’t let anyone tell you that our country is weak. We’re not. Don’t let anyone tell you we don’t have what it takes. We do. And most of all, don’t believe anyone who says I alone can fix it.

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Yes, those were actually Donald Trump’s words in Cleveland. And they should set off alarm bells for all of us. Really? I alone can fix it? Isn’t he forgetting troops on the front lines, police officers and firefighters who run toward danger, doctors and nurses who care for us, teachers who change lives, entrepreneurs who see possibilities in every problem, mothers who lost children to violence and are building a movement to keep other kids safe? He’s forgetting every last one of us.

And remember, remember, our Founders fought a Revolution and wrote a Constitution so America would never be a nation where one person had all the power.

(APPLAUSE)

240 years later, we still put our faith in each other. Look at what happened in Dallas after the assassinations of five brave police officers. Police Chief David Brown asked the community to support his force, maybe even join them. And you know how the community responded? Nearly 500 people applied in just 12 days.

(APPLAUSE)

That’s how Americans answer when the call for help goes out.

Twenty years ago I wrote a book called “It Takes a Village.” And a lot of people looked at the title and asked, what the heck do you mean by that? This is what I mean. None of us can raise a family, build a business, heal a community or lift a country totally alone.

(APPLAUSE)

America needs every one of us to lend our energy, our talents, our ambition to making our nation better and stronger. I believe that with all my heart. That’s why “stronger together” is not just a lesson from our history, it’s not just a slogan for our campaign, it’s a guiding principle for the country we’ve always been and the future we’re going to build, a country where the economy works for everyone, not just those at the top.

(APPLAUSE)

Where you can get a good job and send your kids to a good school, no matter what ZIP code you live in. A country where all our children can dream and those dreams are within reach, where families are strong, communities are safe and, yes, where love trumps hate.

(APPLAUSE)

That’s the country we’re fighting for. That’s the future we’re working toward. And so, my friends, it is with humility, determination and boundless confidence in America’s promise that I accept your nomination for president of the United States!

(APPLAUSE)

Now, sometimes — sometimes — the people at this podium are new to the national stage. As you know, I’m not one of those people. I’ve been your first lady, served eight years as a senator from the great state of New York…

(APPLAUSE) …then I represented all of you as secretary of state.

(APPLAUSE)

CLINTON: But my job titles only tell you what I’ve done. They don’t tell you why. The truth is, through all these years of public service, the service part has always come easier to me than the public part.

I get it that some people just don’t know what to make of me.

(LAUGHTER)

So let me tell you. The family I’m from, well, no one had their name on big buildings. My family were builders of a different kind, builders in the way most American families are. They used whatever tools they had, whatever God gave them and whatever life in America provided and built better lives and better futures for their kids.

My grandfather worked in the same Scranton lace mill for 50 years.

(APPLAUSE)

Because he believed that if he gave everything he had, his children would have a better life than he did. And he was right. My dad, Hugh, made it to college, he played football at Penn State and enlisted in the Navy after Pearl Harbor. When the war was over, he started his own small business printing fabric for draperies. I remember watching him stand for hours over silkscreens. He wanted to give my brothers and me opportunities he never had, and he did.

My mother, Dorothy, was abandoned by her parents as a young girl. She ended up on her own at 14 working as a housemaid. She was saved by the kindness of others. Her first-grade teacher saw she had nothing to eat at lunch, and brought extra food to share the entire year.

The lessons she passed on to me years later stuck with me. No one gets through life alone. We have to look out for each other and lift each other up. And she made sure I learned the words from our Methodist faith: Do all the good you can for all the people you can in all the ways you can as long as ever you can.

(APPLAUSE)

So I went to work for the Children’s Defense Fund, going door-to- door in New Bedford, Massachusetts… (APPLAUSE)

…on behalf of children with disabilities who were denied the chance to go to school. I remember meeting a young girl in a wheelchair on the small back porch of her house. She told me how badly she wanted to go to school. It just didn’t seem possible in those days. And I couldn’t stop thinking of my mother and what she’d gone through as a child.

It became clear to me that simply caring is not enough. To drive real progress, you have to change both hearts and laws. You need both understanding and action.

(APPLAUSE)

So we gathered facts, we built a coalition and our work helped convince Congress to ensure access to education for all students with disabilities. It’s a big idea, isn’t it? Every kid with a disability has the right to go to school.

(APPLAUSE)

But how? How do you make an idea like that real? You do it step by step, year by year, sometimes even door by door. My heart just swelled when I saw Anastasia Somoza representing millions of young people on this stage.

(APPLAUSE)

Because we changed our law to make sure she got an education. So it’s true. I sweat the details of policy, whether we’re talking about the exact level of lead in the drinking water in Flint, Michigan, the number of mental health facilities in Iowa or the cost of your prescription drugs.

(APPLAUSE)

Because it’s not just a detail if it’s your kid, if it’s your family. It’s a big deal. And it should be a big deal to you president, too.

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After the four days of this convention, you’ve seen some of the people who have inspired me, people who let me into their lives and became a part of mine, people like Ryan Moore and Lauren Manning. They told their stories Tuesday night.

I first met Ryan as a 7-year old. He was wearing a full-body brace that must have weighed 40 pounds because I leaned over to lift him up. Children like Ryan kept me going when our plan for universal health care failed and kept me working with leaders of both parties to help create the Children’s Health Insurance Program that covers 8 million kids in our country.

(APPLAUSE) Lauren Manning, who stood here with such grace and power, was gravely injured on 9/11. It was the thought of her and Debbie St. John who you saw in the movie and John Dolan and Joe Sweeney and all the victims and survivors that kept me working as hard as I could in the Senate on behalf of 9/11 families and our first responders who got sick from their time at ground zero.

I was thinking of Lauren, Debbie and all the others 10 years later in the White House Situation Room when President Obama made the courageous decision that finally brought Osama bin Laden to justice.

(APPLAUSE)

And in this campaign, I’ve met many more people who motivate me to keep fighting for change. And with your help, I will carry all of your voices and stories with me to the White House.

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And you heard from Republicans and independents who are supporting our campaign. Well, I will be a president for Democrats, Republicans, independents, for the struggling, the striving, the successful, for all those who vote for me and for those who don’t. For all Americans together!

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Tonight we’ve reached a milestone in our nation’s march toward a more perfect union. The first time that a major party has nominated a woman for president!

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Standing here as my mother’s daughter and my daughter’s mother, I’m so happy this day has come. I’m happy for grandmothers and little girls and everyone in between. I’m happy for boys and men. Because when any barrier falls in America, it clears the way for everyone.

After all, when there are no ceilings, the sky’s the limit!

(APPLAUSE)

So let’s keep going. Let’s keep going until every one of the 161 million women and girls across America has the opportunity she deserves to have!

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CLINTON: But even more important than the history we make tonight is the history we will write together in the years ahead.

Let’s begin with what we’re going to do to help working people in our country get ahead and stay ahead.

Now, I don’t think President Obama and Vice President Biden get the credit they deserve for saving us from the worst economic crisis of our lifetimes.

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Our economy is so much stronger than when they took office. Nearly 15 million new private sector jobs, 20 million more Americans with health insurance, and an auto industry that just had its best year ever.

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Now, that’s real progress, but none of us can be satisfied with the status quo, not by a long shot. We’re still facing deep-seated problems that developed long before the recession and have stayed with us through the recovery.

I’ve gone around the country talking to working families and I’ve heard from many who feel like the economy sure isn’t working for them. Some of you are frustrated, even furious. And you know what? You’re right. It’s not yet working the way it should. Americans are willing to work and work hard, but right now an awful lot of people feel there is less and less respect for the work they do and less respect for them, period.

Democrats, we are the party of working people.

(APPLAUSE)

But we haven’t done a good enough job showing we get what you’re going through, and we’re going to do something to help. So tonight I want to tell you how we will empower Americans to live better lives.

My primary mission as president will be to create more opportunity and more good jobs with rising wages right here in the United States.

(APPLAUSE)

From my first day in office to my last, especially in places that for too long have been left out and left behind, from our inner cities to our small towns, from Indian country to coal country…

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…from communities ravaged by addiction, to regions hollowed out by plant closures.

And here’s what I believe. I believe America thrives when the middle class thrives. I believe our economy isn’t working the way it should because our democracy isn’t working the way it should.

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That’s why we need to appoint Supreme Court justices who will get money out of politics and expand voting rights, not restrict them.

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And if necessary, we will pass a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United!

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I believe American corporations that have gotten so much from our country should be just as patriotic in return. Many of them are, but too many aren’t. It’s wrong to take tax breaks with one hand and give out pink slips with the other.

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And I believe Wall Street can never, ever be allowed to wreck Main Street again.

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And I believe in science!

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I believe climate change is real and that we can save our planet while creating millions of good-paying, clean-energy jobs.

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I believe that when we have millions of hardworking immigrants contributing to our economy, it would be self-defeating and inhumane to try to kick them out.

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Comprehensive immigration reform will grow our economy and keep families together. And it’s the right thing to do.

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So whatever party you belong to or if you belong to no party at all, if you share these beliefs, this is your campaign.

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If you believe that companies should share profits, not pad executive bonuses, join us!

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If you believe the minimum wage should be a living wage and no one working full time should have to raise their children in poverty, join us!

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If you believe that every man, woman and child in America has the right to affordable health care, join us!

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If you believe that we should say no to unfair trade deals, that we should stand up to China, that we should support our steelworkers and autoworkers and home-grown manufacturers, then join us!

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If you believe we should expand Social Security and protect a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions, then join us!

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And yes, yes, if you believe that your working mother, wife, sister or daughter deserves equal pay, join us!

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That’s how we’re going to make sure this economy works for everyone, not just those at the top.

Now, you didn’t hear any of this, did you, from Donald Trump at his convention? He spoke for 70-odd minutes, and I do mean odd…

(LAUGHTER)

(APPLAUSE)

…and he offered zero solutions. But we already know he doesn’t believe these things. No wonder he doesn’t like talking about his plans. You might have noticed I love talking about mine.

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In my first 100 days, we will work with both parties to pass the biggest investment in new, good-paying jobs since World War II. (APPLAUSE)

Jobs in manufacturing, clean energy, technology and innovation, small business and infrastructure. If we invest in infrastructure now, we’ll not only create jobs today, but lay the foundation for the jobs of the future. And we will also transform the way we prepare our young people for those jobs.

Bernie Sanders and I will work together to make college tuition free for the middle class and debt free for all.

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We will also liberate millions of people who already have student debt.

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It’s just not right that Donald Trump can ignore his debts and students and families can’t refinance their debts.

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And something we don’t say often enough, sure, college is crucial, but a four-year degree should not be the only path to a good job.

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We will help more people learn a skill or practice a trade and make a good living doing it.

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We will give small businesses, like my dad’s, a boost, make it easier to get credit. Way too many dreams die in the parking lots of banks. In America, if you can dream it you should be able to build it.

(APPLAUSE)

And we will help you balance family and work. And you know what? If fighting for affordable child care and paid family leave is playing the woman card, then deal me in!

(APPLAUSE)

Now, here’s the other thing.

Now, we’re not only going to make all of these investments, we’re going to pay for every single one of them. And here’s how: Wall Street, corporations and the super rich are going to start paying their fair share of taxes.

(APPLAUSE)

CLINTON: This is not because we resent success. But when more than 90 percent of the gains have gone to the top 1 percent, that’s where the money is. And we are going to follow the money.

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And if companies take tax breaks and then ship jobs overseas, we’ll make them pay us back and we’ll put that money to work where it belongs, creating jobs here at home.

(APPLAUSE)

Now, I imagine that some of you are sitting at home thinking, well, that all sounds pretty good, but how are you going to get it done? How are you going to break through the gridlock in Washington?

Well, look at my record. I’ve worked across the aisle to pass laws and treaties and to launch new programs that help millions of people. And if you give me the chance, that’s exactly what I’ll do as president.

(APPLAUSE)

But then I also imagine people are thinking out there, but Trump, he’s a businessman, he must know something about the economy.

(AUDIENCE JEERS)

Well, let’s take a closer look, shall we? In Atlantic City, 60 miles from here, you will find contractors and small businesses who lost everything because Donald Trump refused to pay his bills.

(AUDIENCE JEERS)

Now, remember what the president said last night: Don’t boo; vote!

(APPLAUSE)

But think of this. People who did the work and needed the money, not because he couldn’t pay them, but because he wouldn’t pay them. He just stiffed them. And you know that sales pitch he’s making to be president, put your faith in him and you’ll win big? That’s the same sales pitch he made to all those small businesses. Then Trump walked away and left working people holding the bag.

He also talks a big game about putting America first. Well, please explain what part of “America first” leads him to make Trump ties in China, not Colorado, Trump suits in Mexico, not Michigan, Trump furniture in Turkey, not Ohio, Trump picture frames in India, not Wisconsin?

Donald Trump says he wants to make America great again. Well, he could start by actually making things in America again.

(APPLAUSE)

Now, the choice we face in this election is just as stark when it comes to our national security.

AUDIENCE: Hillary! Hillary! Hillary!

You know, anyone — anyone — reading the news can see the threats and turbulence we face, from Baghdad to Kabul to Nice and Paris and Brussels, from San Bernardino to Orlando. We’re dealing with determined enemies that must be defeated.

So it’s no wonder that people are anxious and looking for reassurance, looking for steady leadership, wanting a leader who understands we are stronger when we work with our allies around the world and care for our veterans here at home.

(APPLAUSE)

Keeping our nation safe and honoring the people who do that work will be my highest priority. I’m proud that we’ve put a lid on Iran’s nuclear program without firing a single shot.

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Now we have to enforce it. And we must keep supporting Israel’s security.

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I’m proud that we shaped a global climate agreement. Now we have to hold every country accountable to their commitments, including ourselves.

And I’m proud to stand by our allies in NATO against any threat they face, including from Russia.

(APPLAUSE)

I’ve laid out my strategy for defeating ISIS. We will strike their sanctuaries from the air and support local forces taking them out on the ground. We will surge our intelligence so we detect and prevent attacks before they happen. We will disrupt their efforts online to reach and radicalize young people in our country.

(APPLAUSE) It won’t be easy or quick, but make no mistake we will prevail.

Now, Donald Trump, Donald Trump says, and this is a quote, “I know more about ISIS than the generals do.” No, Donald, you don’t.

(LAUGHTER)

(APPLAUSE)

He thinks he knows more than our military because he claimed our armed forces are a disaster.

(AUDIENCE JEERS)

Well, I’ve had the privilege to work closely with our troops and our veterans for many years, including as a senator on the Armed Services Committee, and I know how wrong he is. Our military is a national treasure. We entrust our commander in chief to make the hardest decisions our nation faces, decisions about war and peace, life and death. A president should respect the men and women who risk their lives to serve our country…

(APPLAUSE)

…including Captain Khan and the sons of Tim Kaine and Mike Pence, both Marines.

So just ask yourself, do you really think Donald Trump has the temperament to be commander in chief? Donald Trump can’t even handle the rough and tumble of a presidential campaign. He loses his cool at the slightest provocation, when he’s gotten a tough question from a reporter, when he’s challenged in a debate, when he sees a protester at a rally. Imagine, if you dare, imagine, imagine him in the Oval Office facing a real crisis.

A man you can bait with a tweet is not a man we can trust with nuclear weapons!

(APPLAUSE)

I can’t put it any better than Jackie Kennedy did after the Cuban Missile Crisis. She said that what worried President Kennedy during that very dangerous time was that a war might be started not by big men with self-control and restraint, but by little men, the ones moved by fear and pride.

(APPLAUSE)

America’s strength doesn’t come from lashing out. It relies on smarts, judgment, cool resolve and the precise and strategic application of power. And that’s the kind of commander in chief I pledge to be.

(APPLAUSE)

And if we’re serious about keeping our country safe, we also can’t afford to have a president who’s in the pocket of the gun lobby.

(APPLAUSE)

I’m not here to repeal the Second Amendment. I’m not here to take away your guns. I just don’t want you to be shot by someone who shouldn’t have a gun in the first place.

(APPLAUSE)

We will work tirelessly with responsible gun owners to pass common sense reforms and keep guns out of the hands of criminals, terrorists and all others who would do us harm.

You know, for decades people have said this issue was too hard to solve and the politics too hot to touch. But I ask you, how can we just stand by and do nothing? You heard, you saw family members of people killed by gun violence, on this stage. You heard, you saw family members of police officers killed in the line of duty because they were outgunned by criminals.

I refuse to believe we can’t find common ground here. We have to heal the divides in our country, not just on guns, but on race, immigration and more.

(APPLAUSE)

And that starts with listening, listening to each other, trying as best we can to walk in each other’s shoes. So let’s put ourselves in the shoes of young black and Latino men and women who face the effects of systemic racism and are made to feel like their lives are disposable!

(APPLAUSE)

Let’s put ourselves in the shoes of police officers kissing their kids and spouses good-bye every day, heading off to do a dangerous and necessary job. We will reform our criminal justice system from end to end and rebuild trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve.

(APPLAUSE)

And we will defend all our rights, civil rights, human rights and voting rights, women’s rights and workers’ rights, LGBT rights and the rights of people with disabilities.

(APPLAUSE)

And we will stand up against mean and divisive rhetoric wherever it comes from. You know, for the past year many people made the mistake of laughing off Donald Trump’s comments, excusing him as an entertainer just putting on a show.

They thought he couldn’t possibly mean all the horrible things he says. Like when he called women pigs, or said that an American judge couldn’t be fair because of his Mexican heritage, or when he mocks and mimics a reporter with a disability or insults prisoners of war, like John McCain, a hero and a patriot who deserves our respect.

(APPLAUSE)

Now, at first, at first, I admit, I couldn’t he meant it either. It was just too hard to fathom that someone who wants to lead our nation could say those things, could be like that. But here’s the sad truth: There is no other Donald Trump, this is it.

And in the end, it comes down to what Donald Trump doesn’t get: America is great because America is good!

(APPLAUSE)

So enough with the bigotry and the bombast. Donald Trump’s not offering real change, he’s offering empty promises. And what are we offering? A bold agenda to improve the lives of people across our country to keep you safe, to get you good jobs, to get your kids the opportunities they deserve.

(APPLAUSE)

The choice is clear, my friends. Every generation of Americans has come together to make our country freer, fairer and stronger. None of us ever have or can do it alone. I know that at a time when so much seems to be pulling us apart, it can be hard to imagine how we’ll ever pull together. But I’m here to tell you tonight progress is possible. I know because I’ve seen it in the lives of people across America who get knocked down and get right back up.

(APPLAUSE)

And I know it from my own life. More than a few times I’ve had to pick myself up and get back in the game.

(APPLAUSE)

Like so much else in my life, I got this from my mother, too. She never let me back down from any challenge. When I tried to hide from a neighborhood bully, she literally blocked the door, go back out there, she said. And she was right.

You have to stand up to bullies. You have to keep working to make things better, even when the odds are long and the opposition is fierce.

We lost our mother a few years ago, but I miss her every day. And I still hear her voice urging me to keep working, keep fighting for right no matter what. That’s what we need to do together as a nation.

(APPLAUSE)

And though we may not live to see the glory, as the song from the musical “Hamilton” goes, let us gladly join the fight, let our legacy be about planting seeds in a garden you never get to see. That’s why we’re here, not just in this hall, but on this earth. The Founders showed us that and so have many others since. They were drawn together by love of country and the selfless passion to build something better for all who follow.

That is the story of America. And we begin a new chapter tonight.

Yes, the world is watching what we do. Yes, America’s destiny is ours to choose. So let’s be stronger together, my fellow Americans!

(APPLAUSE)

Let’s look to the future with courage and confidence. Let’s build a better tomorrow for our beloved children and our beloved country. And when we do, America will be greater than ever!

2016

Tim Kaine’s Speech Accepting the Vice Presidential Nomination at the Democratic National Convention

I want to start off by thanking my beautiful wife and my three wonderful children, Nat, Woody, and Annella. They are sitting right up there.

(APPLAUSE)

You know my son, Nat, deployed with his Marine battalion just two days ago.

(APPLAUSE)

KAINE: He deployed overseas to protect and defend the very NATO allies that Donald Trump says he now wants to abandon.

Semper fi, Nat! Semper fi!

(APPLAUSE)

My parents and my in-laws are here. Our siblings and their spouses. Our nieces and nephews, and hundreds of friends from Virginia and beyond.

(APPLAUSE)

I love seeing you front and center. Including my friend of 37 years, senior Senator Mark Warner. My great Governor Terry McAuliffe.

(APPLAUSE)

And my great friend and Congressman Bobby Scott.

(APPLAUSE)

We love you all.

Today, for my wife Anne and every strong woman in this country, for Nat, Woody, and Annella, and every young person starting out in life to make their own dreams real, for every man and woman serving our country in the military at home or abroad, for every working family working hard to get ahead and stay ahead, for my parents and in-laws and every senior citizen who hopes for a dignified retirement with health care and research to end diseases like Alzheimer’s.

For every American who wants our country to be a beloved community where people are not demeaned because of who they are but rather respected for their contributions to this nation, and for all of us who know that the brightest future for our country is the one that we build together, and for my friend, Hillary Clinton, I humbly accept my party’s nomination to be vice president of the United States.

(APPLAUSE)

(APPLAUSE)

Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

Can I be honest with you about something? Can I be honest with you about something? I never expected to be here. But let me tell you how it happened, I was born in Minnesota and grew up in Kansas City.

(APPLAUSE)

My folks were not much into politics. My dad ran a union iron- working shop in the stockyards.

(APPLAUSE)

And my mom was his best salesman. My two brothers and I pitched in to work during summers and weekends. And, you know, that is how small family businesses do it.

My parents, Al and Kathy, here tonight and going strong, they taught me about hard work and about kindness and most especially, about faith. I went to a Jesuit boys high school, Rockhurst High School.

(APPLAUSE)

Wow, that’s a big line for the Jesuits.

Now we had a motto in my school, “men for others.” And it was there that my faith became something vital. My north star for orienting my life. And when I left high school, I knew that I wanted to battle for social justice.

(APPLAUSE)

Like so many of you. Like so many of you.

That is why I took a year off from law school to volunteer with Jesuit missionaries in Honduras. I taught kids how to be welders and carpenters. (SPEAKING SPANISH), faith, family, and work. Faith, family, and work. (SPEAKING SPANISH).

And let me tell you what really struck me there, I got a firsthand look at a different system. A dictatorship. A dictatorship where a few people at the top had all the power and everybody else got left out.

Now that convinced me that we have got to advance opportunity for everybody, no matter where you come from, how much money you have, what you look like, how you worship or who you love.

(APPLAUSE)

Back in 1970, in Virginia, a Republican governor named Linwood Holton believed exactly the same thing. He integrated Virginia’s public schools so that black and white kids could finally learn together. And then the family enrolled their own kids, including his daughter, Anne, in those integrated inner city schools.

Many years later Anne went off to college and she brought those lessons from that pivotal time with her. And then one day, in a study group, she met this goofy guy who had been off teaching kids in Honduras.

Well, Anne and I have now been married almost 32 years and I am the luckiest husband in the world.

Ninety-plus and going strong. Linwood Holton, he is still a Republican but he is voting for an awful lot of Democrats these days. An awful lot of Democrats.

(APPLAUSE)

And here is why, he is voting for Democrats because any party that would nominate Donald Trump for president has moved too far away from his party of Lincoln.

(APPLAUSE)

And I’ll tell you, if any of you are looking for that party of Lincoln, we have got a home for you right here in the Democratic Party.

(APPLAUSE)

Linwood’s example helped inspire me as a civil rights lawyer. Over 17 years I took on banks, landlords, real estate firms, local governments, anybody who treated anybody unfairly.

I had a six-year case against an insurance company that was discriminating against minority neighborhoods all across the United States in issuing homeowner’s insurance.

Folks, Democratic friends, these are the battles that I have fought my entire life.

(APPLAUSE)

And that is the story — and that is the story of how I decided to run for office. My city of Richmond was divided and discouraged in the early 1990s. We had an epidemic of gun violence that was overwhelming our low-income neighborhoods.

People were pointing fingers and casting blame instead of finding answers. And I couldn’t stand it. So I ran for city council and I won that first race more than 20 years ago by a landslide margin of 94 votes.

(APPLAUSE)

And I’ve said ever since, if I’m good at anything in politics, it’s because I started at the local level listening to people, learning about their lives, and trying to get results. I see a mayor here who knows what I’m talking about.

Later I became mayor of Richmond, lieutenant governor, and then the 70th governor of Virginia.

(APPLAUSE)

Now, I was a hard times governor. I had to steer my state through the deepest recession since the 1930s. But hey, tough times don’t last and tough people do. And can I tell you that Virginians are tough people? We are tough people.

(APPLAUSE)

And we are smart, too . We achieved national recognition for our work, best-managed state, best state for business, best state for a child to be raised, low unemployment, high median income.

We shed tears along the way. We shed tears especially together in the days after that horrible mass shooting at Virginia Tech that killed 32 people from beautiful 19-year-old students to 70-plus-year- old Romanian-born Holocaust survivors, and we shed tears and held each other up, but afterwards we rolled up our sleeves and we fixed the loophole in the background record check system so that we could make our commonwealth safer. And we got have to do that in the nation. (APPLAUSE)

We invested in our people expanding pre-K and higher ed., because we all know in this room that education is the key to all we want to be, all we want to be.

(APPLAUSE)

And now I have the honor of representing my commonwealth in the U.S. Senate. I work on the Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees to keep us safe at home and strong in the world.

(APPLAUSE)

I work on the Budget Committee with our great Democratic leader of that committee, a spectacular senator who used to be a mayor, Vermont’s Bernie Sanders.

(APPLAUSE)

CROWD: Bernie! Bernie! Bernie!

And, everybody, we all should feel the Bern and we all should not want to get burned by the other guy.

(APPLAUSE)

On that Budget Committee under Bernie’s leadership, we fight for investments in education, health care, research, transportation. And I also serve on the Aging Committee to make sure that seniors like my folks have a secure retirement and don’t get targeted by rip-off artists who will scam them out of their savings or overcharge them for prescription drugs.

(APPLAUSE)

Can I tell you a funny thing about the Senate? Can I tell you a funny thing about the Senate?

(APPLAUSE)

That sounds like a yes. I spend a lot of time with Republican senators who, once they have made sure that nobody is listening, will tell you how fantastic a senator that Hillary Clinton was.

(APPLAUSE)

Now, look, this journey that I’ve told you about has convinced me, has convinced me over and over again that God has created in our country a beautiful and rich tapestry, an incredible cultural diversity that succeeds when we embrace everybody in love and battle back against the forces, the dark forces of division.

PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN & ELECTIONS

2016

Friends, delegates and fellow Americans: I humbly and gratefully accept your nomination for the presidency of the United States.

Who would have believed that when we started this journey on June 16th of last year we – and I say “we” because we are a team – would have received almost 14 million votes, the most in the history of the Republican Party, and that the Republican Party would get 60 percent more votes than it received four years ago. The Democrats, on the other hand, received almost 20 percent fewer votes than they got eight years ago.

Together, we will lead our party back to the White House, and we will lead our country back to safety, prosperity, and peace.

We will be a country of generosity and warmth. But we will also be a country of law and order. Our Convention occurs at a moment of crisis for our nation. The attacks on our police, and the terrorism in our cities, threaten our very way of life. Any politician who does not grasp this danger is not fit to lead our country.

Americans watching this address tonight have seen the recent images of violence in our streets and the chaos in our communities.

Many have witnessed this violence personally, some have even been its victims.

I have a message for all of you: the crime and violence that today afflicts our nation will soon come to an end. Beginning on January 20th 2017, safety will be restored.

The most basic duty of government is to defend the lives of its own citizens. Any government that fails to do so is a government unworthy to lead.

It is finally time for a straightforward assessment of the state of our nation. I will present the facts plainly and honestly.

We cannot afford to be so politically correct anymore.

So if you want to hear the corporate spin, the carefully-crafted lies, and the media myths—the Democrats are holding their convention next week.

But here, at our convention, there will be no lies. We will honor the American people with the truth, and nothing else.

These are the facts: Decades of progress made in bringing down crime are now being reversed by this Administration’s rollback of criminal enforcement.

Homicides last year increased by 17% in America’s fifty largest cities. That’s the largest increase in 25 years. 23 24 In our nation’s capital, killings have risen by 50 percent.

They are up nearly 60% in nearby Baltimore.

In the President’s hometown of Chicago, more than 2,000 people have been the victims of shootings this year alone. And almost 4,000 have been killed in the Chicago area since he took office.

The number of police officers killed in the line of duty has risen by almost 50% compared to this point last year.

Nearly 180,000 illegal immigrants with criminal records, ordered deported from our country, are tonight roaming free to threaten peaceful citizens. The number of new illegal immigrant families who have crossed the border so far this year already exceeds the entire total from 2015. They are being released by the tens of thousands into our communities with no regard for the impact on public safety or resources.

One such border-crosser was released and made his way to Nebraska. There, he ended the life of an innocent young girl named Sarah Root. She was 21 years-old, and was killed the day after graduating from college with a 4.0 Grade Point Average. Her killer was then released a second time, and he is now a fugitive from the law.

I’ve met Sarah’s beautiful family. But to this Administration, their amazing daughter was just one more American life that wasn’t worth protecting. One more child to sacrifice on the altar of open borders.

What about our economy? Again, I will tell you the plain facts that have been edited out of your nightly news and your morning newspaper:

Nearly Four in 10 African-American children are living in poverty, while 58% of African-American youth are not employed.

2 million more Latinos are in poverty today than when President Obama took his oath of office less than eight years ago.

Another 14 million people have left the workforce entirely.

Household incomes are down more than 4 thousand dollars since the year 2000 – 16 years ago.

President Obama has almost doubled our national debt to more than 19 trillion dollars, and growing.

Yet, what do we have to show for it? Our roads and bridges are falling apart, our airports are in Third World condition, and forty-three million Americans are on food stamps.

Now let us consider the state of affairs abroad.

Not only have our citizens endured domestic disaster, but they have lived through one international humiliation after another.

We all remember the images of our sailors being forced to their knees by their Iranian captors at gunpoint.

This was just prior to the signing of the Iran deal, which gave back to Iran 150 billion dollars and gave us nothing – it will go down in history as one of the worst deals ever negotiated.

Another humiliation came when president Obama drew a red line in Syria – and the whole world knew it meant nothing.

In Libya, our consulate – the symbol of American prestige around the globe – was brought down in flames.

America is far less safe – and the world is far less stable – than when Obama made the decision to put Hillary Clinton in charge of America’s foreign policy. I am certain it is a decision he truly regrets.

Her bad instincts and her bad judgement – something pointed out by Bernie Sanders – are what caused so many of the disasters unfolding today.

Let’s review the record.

In 2009, pre-Hillary, ISIS was not even on the map. Libya was stable. Egypt was peaceful. Iraq was seeing a reduction in violence. Iran was being choked by sanctions. Syria was under control.

After four years of Hillary Clinton, what do we have?

ISIS has spread across the region, and the world.

Libya is in ruins, and our Ambassador and his staff were left helpless to die at the hands of savage killers.

Egypt was turned over to the radical Muslim brotherhood, forcing the military to retake control.

Iraq is in chaos.

Iran is on the path to nuclear weapons.

Syria is engulfed in a civil war and a refugee crisis that now threatens the West.

After fifteen years of wars in the Middle East, after trillions of dollars spent and thousands of lives lost, the situation is worse than it has ever been before.

This is the legacy of Hillary Clinton: death, destruction, terrorism and weakness.

But Hillary Clinton’s legacy does not have to be America’s legacy.

The problems we face now – poverty and violence at home, war and destruction abroad – will last only as long as we continue relying on the same politicians who created them.

A change in leadership is required to produce a change in outcomes.

Tonight, I will share with you my plan of action for America.

The most important difference between our plan and that of our opponents, is that our plan will put America First.

Americanism, not globalism, will be our credo.

As long as we are led by politicians who will not put America First, then we can be assured that other nations will not treat America with respect.

This will all change when I take office.

The American People will come first once again.

My plan will begin with safety at home – which means safe neighborhoods, secure borders, and protection from terrorism. There can be no prosperity without law and order.

On the economy, I will outline reforms to add millions of new jobs and trillions in new wealth that can be used to rebuild America.

A number of these reforms that I will outline tonight will be opposed by some of our nation’s most powerful special interests.

That is because these interests have rigged our political and economic system for their exclusive benefit.

Big business, elite media and major donors are lining up behind the campaign of my opponent because they know she will keep our rigged system in place.

They are throwing money at her because they have total control over everything she does.

She is their puppet, and they pull the strings.

That is why Hillary Clinton’s message is that things will never change.

My message is that things have to change – and they have to change right now.

Every day I wake up determined to deliver a better life for the people all across this nation that have been ignored, neglected and abandoned.

I have visited the laid-off factory workers, and the communities crushed by our horrible and unfair trade deals.

These are the forgotten men and women of our country. People who work hard but no longer have a voice.

I AM YOUR VOICE.

I have embraced crying mothers who have lost their children because our politicians put their personal agendas before the national good.

I have no patience for injustice, no tolerance for government incompetence, no sympathy for leaders who fail their citizens.

When innocent people suffer, because our political system lacks the will, or the courage, or the basic decency to enforce our laws – or worse still, has sold out to some corporate lobbyist for cash – I am not able to look the other way.

And when a Secretary of State illegally stores her emails on a private server, deletes 33,000 of them so the authorities can’t see her crime, puts our country at risk, lies about it in every different form and faces no consequence – I know that corruption has reached a level like never before.

When the FBI Director says that the Secretary of State was “extremely careless” and “negligent,” in handling our classified secrets, I also know that these terms are minor compared to what she actually did. They were just used to save her from facing justice for her terrible crimes.

In fact, her single greatest accomplishment may be committing such an egregious crime and getting away with it – especially when others, who have done far less, have paid so dearly.

When that same Secretary of State rakes in millions of dollars trading access and favors to special interests and foreign powers I know the time for action has come.

I have joined the political arena so that the powerful can no longer beat up on people who cannot defend themselves.

Nobody knows the system better than me, which is why I alone can fix it. I have seen firsthand how the system is rigged against our citizens, just like it was rigged against Bernie Sanders – he never had a chance. But his supporters will join our movement, because we will fix his biggest issue: trade deals that strip our country of its jobs and wealth.

Millions of Democrats will join our movement, because we are going to fix the system so it works fairly, and justly, for each and every American.

In this cause, I am proud to have at my side the next Vice President of the United States: Governor Mike Pence of Indiana.

We will bring the same economic success to America that Mike brought to Indiana.

He is a man of character and accomplishment.

He is the right man for the job.

The first task for our new Administration will be to liberate our citizens from the crime and terrorism and lawlessness that threatens their communities.

America was shocked to its core when our police officers in Dallas were so brutally executed.

Immediately after Dallas, we have seen continued threats and violence against our law enforcement officials.

Law officers have been shot or killed in recent days in Georgia, Missouri, Wisconsin, Kansas, Michigan and Tennessee.

On Sunday, more police were gunned down in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Three were killed, and three were badly injured.

An attack on law enforcement is an attack on all Americans.

I have a message to every last person threatening the peace on our streets and the safety of our police: when I take the oath of office next year, I will restore law and order to our country.

I will work with, and appoint, the best and brightest prosecutors and law enforcement officials to get the job done.

In this race for the White House, I am the Law And Order candidate.

The irresponsible rhetoric of our President, who has used the pulpit of the presidency to divide us by race and color, has made America a more dangerous environment for everyone.

This Administration has failed America’s inner cities. It’s failed them on education. It’s failed them on jobs. It’s failed them on crime. It’s failed them in every way and on every level.

When I am President, I will work to ensure that all of our kids are treated equally, and protected equally.

Every action I take, I will ask myself: does this make life better for young Americans in Baltimore, Chicago, Detroit, Ferguson who have the same right to live out their dreams as any other child in America?

To make life safe for all our citizens, we must also address the growing threats we face from outside the country: we are going to defeat the barbarians of ISIS.

Once again, France is the victim of brutal Islamic terrorism. Men, women and children viciously mowed down. Lives ruined. Families ripped apart. A nation in mourning.

The damage and devastation that can be inflicted by Islamic radicals has been proven over and over – at the World Trade Center, at an office party in San Bernardino, at the Boston Marathon, at a military recruiting center in Chattanooga, and many more.

Only weeks ago, in Orlando, Florida, 49 wonderful Americans were savagely murdered by an Islamic terrorist. This time, the terrorist targeted our LGBTQ community.

As your President, I will do everything in my power to protect our LGBTQ citizens from the violence and oppression of a hateful foreign ideology.

To protect us from terrorism, we need to focus on three things. We must have the best intelligence-gathering operation in the world.

We must abandon the failed policy of nation-building and regime change that Hillary Clinton pushed in Iraq, Libya, Egypt and Syria. Instead, we must work with all of our allies who share our goal of destroying ISIS and stamping out Islamic terror. This includes working with our greatest ally in the region, the State of Israel.

Recently I have said that NATO was obsolete, because it did not properly cover terror, and also, that many of the member countries were not paying their fair share. As usual, the United States has been picking up the cost.

Shortly thereafter, it was announced that NATO will be setting up a new program in order to combat terrorism — a true step in the right direction.

Lastly, we must immediately suspend immigration from any nation that has been compromised by terrorism until such time as proven vetting mechanisms have been put in place.

My opponent has called for a radical 550% increase in Syrian refugees on top of existing massive refugee flows coming into our country under President Obama. She proposes this despite the fact that there’s no way to screen these refugees in order to find out who they are or where they come from.

I only want to admit individuals into our country who will support our values and love our people. Anyone who endorses violence, hatred or oppression is not welcome in our country and never will be.

Decades of record immigration have produced lower wages and higher unemployment for our citizens, especially for African-American and Latino workers.

We are going to have an immigration system that works, but one that works for the American people.

On Monday, we heard from three parents whose children were killed by illegal immigrants—Mary Ann Mendoza, Sabine Durden, and Jamiel Shaw.

They are just three brave representatives of many thousands who have suffered so gravely.

Of all my travels in this country, nothing has affected me more deeply than the time I have spent with the mothers and fathers who have lost their children to violence spilling across our border.

These families have no special interests to represent them.

There are no demonstrators to protest on their behalf.

My opponent will never meet with them, or share in their pain.

Instead, my opponent wants Sanctuary Cities.

But where was the sanctuary for Kate Steinle?

Where was the Sanctuary for the children of Mary Ann, Sabine and Jamiel?

Where was the Sanctuary for all the other Americans who have been so brutally murdered, and who have suffered so horribly?

These wounded American families have been alone.

But they are alone no longer.

Tonight, this candidate and the whole nation stand in their corner to support them, to send them our love, and to pledge in their honor that we will save countless more families from suffering the same awful fate.

We are going to build a great border wall to stop illegal immigration, to stop the gangs and the violence, and to stop the drugs from pouring into our communities.

I have been honored to receive the endorsement of America’s Border Patrol Agents, and will work directly with them to protect the integrity of our lawful immigration system.

By ending catch-and-release on the border, we will end the cycle of human smuggling and violence. Illegal border crossings will go down. Peace will be restored.

By enforcing the rules for the millions who overstay their visas, our laws will finally receive the respect they deserve.

Tonight, I want every American whose demands for immigration security have been denied – and every politician who has denied them – to listen very closely to the words am about to say.

On January 20th of 2017, the day I take the oath of office, Americans will finally wake up in a country where the laws of the United States are enforced.

We are going to be considerate and compassionate to everyone. But my greatest compassion will be for our own struggling citizens.

My plan is the exact opposite of the radical and dangerous immigration policy of Hillary Clinton.

Her plan will overwhelm your schools and hospitals, further reduce your jobs and wages, and make it harder for recent immigrants to escape from poverty and join the middle class.

I have a different vision for our workers.

It begins with a new, fair trade policy that protects our jobs and stands up to countries that cheat. It’s been a signature message of my campaign from day one, and it will be a signature feature of my presidency from the moment I take the oath of office.

I have made billions of dollars in business making deals – now I’m going to make our country rich again.

I am going to turn our bad trade agreements into great trade agreements.

America has lost nearly one-third of its manufacturing jobs since 1997, following the enactment of disastrous trade deals supported by Bill and Hillary Clinton.

Remember, it was Bill Clinton who signed NAFTA, one of the worst economic deals ever made by our country.

Never again.

I am going to bring back our jobs to Ohio, and Pennsylvania, and New York, and Michigan and to all of America – and I am not going to let companies move to other countries, firing their employees along the way, without consequence.

My opponent, on the other hand, has supported virtually every trade agreement that has been destroying our middle class.

She supported NAFTA, and she supported China’s entrance into the World Trade Organization – another one of her husband’s colossal mistakes.

She supported the job-killing trade deal with South Korea.

She has supported the Trans-Pacific Partnership – which will not only destroy our manufacturing, but it will make America subject to the rulings of foreign governments.

I pledge to never sign any trade agreement that hurts our workers, or that diminishes our freedom and independence.

Instead, I will make individual deals with individual countries. No longer will we enter into these massive transactions, with many countries, that are thousands of pages long – and which no one from our country even reads or understands.

We are going to enforce all trade violations against any country that cheats. This includes stopping China’s outrageous theft of intellectual property, along with their illegal product dumping, and their devastating currency manipulation.

Our horrible trade agreements with China, and many others, will be totally renegotiated.

That includes renegotiating NAFTA to get a much better deal for America – and we’ll walk away if we don’t get the deal that we want.

Our country is going to start building and making things again.

Next comes the reform of our tax laws, regulations and energy rules.

While Hillary Clinton plans a massive tax increase, I have proposed the largest tax reduction of any candidate who has run for president this year – Democrat or Republican.

Middle-income Americans and businesses will experience profound relief, and taxes will be greatly simplified for everyone.

America is one of the highest-taxed nations in the world. Reducing taxes will cause new companies and new jobs to come roaring back into our country.

Then we are going to deal with the issue of regulation, one of the greatest job-killers of them all. Excessive regulation is costing our country as much as 2 trillion dollars a year, and we will end it.

We are going to lift the restrictions on the production of American energy.

This will produce more than 20 trillion dollars in job-creating economic activity over the next four decades.

My opponent, on the other hand, wants to put the great miners and steel workers of our country out of work – that will never happen when I am President.

With these new economic policies, trillions of dollars will start flowing into our country.

This new wealth will improve the quality of life for all Americans.

We will build the roads, highways, bridges, tunnels, airports, and the railways of tomorrow. This, in turn, will create millions more jobs.

We will rescue kids from failing schools by helping their parents send them to a safe school of their choice.

My opponent would rather protect bureaucrats than serve American children.

We will repeal and replace disastrous Obamacare.

You will be able to choose your own doctor again.

And we will fix TSA at the airports!

We’re going to work with all of our students who are drowning in debt to take the pressure off these young people just starting out their adult lives.

We will completely rebuild our depleted military, and the countries that we are protecting, at a massive cost to us, will be asked to pay their fair share.

We will take care of our great Veterans like they have never been taken care of before. My just-released Ten Point Plan has received tremendous veteran support. We will guarantee those who serve this country will be able to visit the doctor or hospital of their choice. My opponent dismissed the VA scandal – one more sign of how out of touch she really is.

We are going to ask every Department Head in government to provide a list of wasteful spending projects that we can eliminate in my first 100 days. The politicians have talked about it, I’m going to do it.

We are also going to appoint justices to the United States Supreme Court who will uphold our laws and our Constitution.

The replacement of our beloved Justice Scalia will be a person of similar views, principles, and judicial philosophy. This will be one of the most important issues decided by this election.

My opponent wants to essentially abolish the 2nd amendment. I, on the other hand, received the early and strong endorsement of the National Rifle Association and will protect the right of all Americans to keep their families safe.

At this moment, I would like to thank the evangelical and religious community in general who have been so good to me and so supportive. You have much to contribute to our politics, yet our laws prevent you from speaking your minds from your own pulpits.

An amendment, pushed by Lyndon Johnson, many years ago, threatens religious institutions with a loss of their tax-exempt status if they openly advocate their political views. I am going to work very hard to repeal that language and protect free speech for all Americans.

We can accomplish these great things, and so much more – all we need to do is start believing in ourselves and in our country again.

It is time to show the whole world that America Is Back – bigger, and better and stronger than ever before.

In this journey, I’m so lucky to have at my side my wife Melania and my wonderful children, Don, Ivanka, Eric, Tiffany, and Barron: you will always be my greatest source of pride and joy.

My Dad, Fred Trump, was the smartest and hardest working man I ever knew.

I wonder sometimes what he’d say if he were here to see this tonight.

It’s because of him that I learned, from my youngest age, to respect the dignity of work and the dignity of working people. He was a guy most comfortable in the company of bricklayers, carpenters, and electricians and I have a lot of that in me also.

Then there’s my mother, Mary. She was strong, but also warm and fairminded. She was a truly great mother. She was also one of the most honest and charitable people have ever known, and a great judge of character.

To my sisters Mary Anne and Elizabeth, my brother Robert and my late brother Fred, I will always give you my love—you are most special to me.

I have had a truly great life in business.

But now, my sole and exclusive mission is to go to work for our country – to go to work for you.

It’s time to deliver a victory for the American people.

But to do that, we must break free from the petty politics of the past.

America is a nation of believers, dreamers, and strivers that is being led by a group of censors, critics, and cynics.

Remember: all of the people telling you that you can’t have the country you want, are the same people telling you that I wouldn’t be standing here tonight.

No longer can we rely on those same people in the media, and politics, who will say anything to keep a rigged system in place.

Instead, we must choose to Believe In America.

History is watching us now. It’s waiting to see if we will rise to the occasion, and if we will show the whole world that America is still free and independent and strong.

I’m asking for your support tonight so that I can be your champion in the White House.

My opponent asks her supporters to recite a three-word loyalty pledge. It reads: “I’m With Her”

I choose to recite a different pledge.

My pledge reads: “I’M WITH YOU – THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.”

I am your voice. So to every parent who dreams for their child, and every child who dreams for their future, I say these words to you tonight:

I’m with you, I will fight for you, and I will win for you.

To all Americans tonight, in all of our cities and in all of our towns, I make this promise:

PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN & ELECTIONS

2016

Mr. Chairman, delegates, friends and my fellow Americans, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I am deeply humbled by your confidence.

And on behalf of my family, here and gone, I accept your nomination to run and serve as vice president of the United States of America.

(CHEERS, APPLAUSE)

And let me thank Speaker Paul Ryan for that gracious welcome.

Paul, you’re a true friend and a great American leader.

But Paul knows me well, and he knows the introduction I prefer is just a little bit shorter: I’m a Christian, a conservative and a Republican, in that order.

(APPLAUSE)

You know, I’m new to this campaign and honestly I never thought I’d be standing here. I thought I’d be spending this evening with all my friends from the great state of Indiana.

(APPLAUSE)

Yet, there I was, a few days ago in New York City with the man who won 37 states, who faced 16 talented opponents and outlasted every one of them and along the way brought millions of new voters into the Republican Party.

(APPLAUSE)

You know, he’s a man known for a larger personality, a colorful style and lots of charisma. And so, I guess he was just looking for some balance on the ticket.

(LAUGHTER)

Well, for those of you who don’t know me, which is most of you…

(LAUGHTER)

…I grew up on the front row of the American dream. My grandfather immigrated to this country. I was raised in a small town in southern Indiana, in a big family with a cornfield in the backyard.

Although we weren’t really a political family, the heroes of my youth were President John F. Kennedy and the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

(APPLAUSE)

When I was young, I watched my mom and dad build everything that matters: a family, a business and a good name. I was raised to believe in hard work, in faith and family. My dad, Ed Pence, was a combat veteran in Korea.

(APPLAUSE) Dad ran gas stations in our small town and he was a great father. If Dad were with us today, I have a feeling he’d enjoy this moment and probably be pretty surprised.

(LAUGHTER)

But it’s such a joy for me to tell you that my mother is here. Would you join me in welcoming the light of my life, my mom, Nancy.

(APPLAUSE)

You know, growing up I actually started in politics in the other party until I heard the voice and the ideals of the 40th president and I said on for the Reagan revolution.

(APPLAUSE)

But the best thing that ever happened to me, even counting tonight, was that 31 years ago I married the girl of my dreams, a school teacher and artist. She is everything to me. Would you welcome my wonderful wife, Karen Pence.

(APPLAUSE)

And regardless of any title I’ll ever hold, the most important job I’ll ever have is spelled D-A-D.

(APPLAUSE)

Karen and I are blessed. Karen and I are blessed to be the parents of the three greatest kids in the world: a writer named Charlotte, a college student named Audrey and a second lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps Michael J. Pence.

I’m so proud of you guys.

(APPLAUSE)

Now, if you know anything about Hoosiers, you know we love to suit up and compete. We play to win. That’s why I joined this campaign in a heartbeat. You have nominated a man for president who never quits, who never backs down, a fighter, a winner. Until now, he’s had to do it all by himself against all odds, but this week, with this united party, he’s got backup. And on November 8th, I know we will elect Donald Trump to be the 45th president of the United States of America!

(APPLAUSE)

Now, we’ll win because we’re running on the issues facing this country and because we’re leveling with the American people about the stakes and the choice.

You know, the American people are tired of being told. They’re tired of being told that this is as good as it gets. They’re tired of hearing politicians in both parties tell us that we’ll get to that tomorrow while we pile a mountain range of debt on our children and our grandchildren.

And as Ronald Reagan used to say, they’re tired of being told that a little intellectual elite in a far-distant capital can plan our lives better for us than we can plan them for ourselves.

(APPLAUSE)

In the end, this election comes down to just two names on the ballot, so let’s resolve here and now that Hillary Clinton will never become president of the United States of America.

(APPLAUSE)

Now, Hillary Clinton essentially offers a third Obama term. And the role is perfect for her. She championed “Obamacare” because years earlier she had all but invented it. The national debt has nearly doubled in these eight years and her only answer is to keep borrowing and spending. And like the president, she thinks the path to a growing economy is more taxes, more regulation and more government.

(AUDIENCE JEERS)

Now, they tell us this economy is the best that we can do. It’s nowhere near the best that we could do, it’s just the best that they can do.

(APPLAUSE)

Now, let me tell you, I know firsthand it doesn’t have to be like this. In my home state of Indiana we prove every day that you can build a growing economy on balanced budgets, low taxes, even while making record investments in education and roads and health care.

(APPLAUSE)

You know, Indiana is a state that works because conservative principles work every time you put them into practice.

(APPLAUSE)

AUDIENCE: We want Mike! We want Mike!

Now, today, while the nation suffers under the weight of $19 trillion in a national debt, we in Indiana have a $2 billion surplus, the highest credit rating in the nation, even though we’ve cut taxes every year since I became governor four years ago.

(APPLAUSE)

We have fewer state employees than when I took office, and businesses large and small have created nearly 150,000 new jobs, and there’s more Hoosiers going to work than ever before. That’s what you can do with common sense Republican leadership and that’s exactly what the no-nonsense leadership of Donald Trump will bring to the White House.

(APPLAUSE)

You know, Donald Trump gets it, he’s the genuine article. He’s a doer in a game usually reserved for talkers. And when Donald Trump does his talking, he doesn’t tiptoe around the thousand new rules of political correctness.

(APPLAUSE)

He’s his own man, distinctly American. And where else would an independent spirit like his find a following than in the land of the free and the home of the brave.

(APPLAUSE)

The funny thing is…

AUDIENCE: USA! USA! USA!

You know, the funny thing is the party in power seems helpless to figure out our nominee. The media has the same problem.

(LAUGHTER)

They all keep telling each other that the usual methods will work against him. They keep thinking they’ve done him in, only to wake up the next morning and find that Donald Trump is still standing and running stronger than ever before. The man just doesn’t quit.

(APPLAUSE)

He’s tough. He perseveres. He’s gone about as far as you can go in business, but he’s never turned his back on the working men and women who make this country grow.

(APPLAUSE)

And Donald Trump will never turn his back on those who serve and protect us at home and abroad.

(APPLAUSE)

You know, it’s been a heartbreaking time for the women and men in our law enforcement community. And in this time of great testing for them, let’s let them know here and now, all across this country, we will always stand with those who stand on the thin blue line of law enforcement in America.

(APPLAUSE)

Now, you know, while Donald Trump was taking my measure as a possible running mate, I did some observing myself. I’ve seen the way he deals with people who work for him at every level. And I’ve seen the way they feel about working for him.

Now, I’ll grant you he can be a little rough with politicians on the stage, and I’ll be we see that again.

(APPLAUSE)

But I’ve seen this good man up close, his utter lack of pretense, his respect for the people who work for him and his devotion to his family.

(APPLAUSE)

And if you still doubt what I’m saying, remember, as we say back home, you can’t fake good kids. How about his amazing children, aren’t they something?

(APPLAUSE)

These are the true measures of our nominee, chosen by the voters as the right man for these times. This is the outsider, my running mate, who turned a long-shot campaign into a movement.

Now, over in the other party, you know, if the idea was to present the exact opposite of a political outsider, the exact opposite of an uncalculating truth-teller, then on that score you’ve got to hand it to the Democratic establishment, they outdid themselves this time!

(APPLAUSE)

I mean, at the very moment when America is crying out for something new and different, the other party has answered with a stale agenda and the most predictable of names. People in both parties are restless for change, ready to break free of old patterns in Washington. And Democrats are about to anoint someone who represents everything this country is tired of.

You know, Hillary Clinton wants a better title and I would, too, if I was already America’s secretary of the status quo.

(APPLAUSE)

You know, the choice couldn’t be more clear. Americans can elect someone who literally personifies the failed establishment in Washington, D.C. or we can choose a leader who will fight every day to make America great again. It’s change versus status quo. And my fellow Republicans, when Donald Trump becomes president of the United States of America, the change will be huge.

(APPLAUSE)

You know, for years we’ve had fundamental problems in America that get talked to death in Washington, D.C., but they never get solved and they even get worse. We’ve seen entire stretches of our country written off by bad economic policies in ways that are deeply unfair to American workers. We’ve seen relentless mandates from the executive branch. It seems like no aspect of our lives is too small for the present administration to supervise and no provision of the Constitution is too large for them to ignore.

(APPLAUSE)

Meanwhile, we’ve seen borders that go unrespected, a military that’s been diminished, and promise after ringing promise to our veterans, promptly forgotten.

Then Donald Trump came along and started saying what practically everybody was thinking anyway, that our leaders need to be stronger. Under Donald Trump, our deals will be smarter, our soldiers will have what they need and our veterans will have what they earned. We will secure our borders, protect our nation. In all this, we will be more serious. And when we do, this nation will start winning again.

(APPLAUSE)

You know, that’s the message that men and women in both parties have been longing to hear. But none of us should think for one second that this will be easy. The outcome of this election depends on us and how we contend with an incredible onslaught that’s coming our way.

You know, this won’t be America’s first glimpse of the Clinton machine in action, as Bernie Sanders can tell you.

(LAUGHTER)

And this time around, she’ll have the press doing half her work for her.

(AUDIENCE JEERS)

The good news is it won’t be nearly enough, not against a candidate who’s captured the attention of the country the way Donald Trump has.

(APPLAUSE)

On issue by issue, he and I will take our case to the voters, pointing out the failures of the Obama/Clinton agenda and showing a better way. We will win the hearts and minds of the American people with an agenda for a stronger and more prosperous America.

(APPLAUSE)

Now, the establishment in Washington, D.C. thinks it’s only a narrow range of voters who are giving Donald Trump a serious look. But I can tell you firsthand there’s a lot of Americans out there who feel like Democrat politicians have taken them for granted.

(APPLAUSE)

It’s union members who don’t want a president who promises to put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business.

(APPLAUSE)

Those miners want an American energy policy and they know that Donald Trump digs coal.

(APPLAUSE)

It’s African Americans, who remember generations of hollow promises about safe streets and better schools, and they know Donald Trump will fight for equal opportunity. And he loves educational choice.

(APPLAUSE)

And it’s Hispanic Americans, who respect the law, want jobs and opportunities for their families, who know that Donald Trump will uphold the law and get this economy moving for every American.

(APPLAUSE)

You know, the party of Lincoln was founded on equality of opportunity. And during these difficult days, it will be our party and our agenda that opens the doors for every American to succeed and prosper in this land.

(APPLAUSE)

You know, in so many ways the Democratic Party has abandoned those it used to protect. Maybe they’ve become too entrenched in power, so comfortable at times that they lose patience with the normal legislative process. It’s so much simpler to impose their values by executive order or court action. And make no mistake about it, Hillary Clinton has some big ideas along those lines, too.

(AUDIENCE JEERS)

As this election approaches, every American should know that while we’re filling the presidency for the next four years, this election will define the Supreme Court for the next 40.

(APPLAUSE)

We all better think very carefully — very carefully — about what this means for our Constitution and limited government. Elect Hillary Clinton and you better get used to being subject to unelected judges using unaccountable power to take unconstitutional actions.

So let me say, for the sake of the rule of law, for the sake of the sanctity of life, for the sake of our Second Amendment and for the sake of all our other God-given liberties, we must ensure that the next president appointing justices to the Supreme Court is Donald Trump.

(APPLAUSE)

And Hillary Clinton’s record on foreign affairs gets even worse. You know, it was Hillary Clinton who helped undo all the gains of the troop surge, a staggering failure of judgment that set ISIS on the loose.

It was Hillary Clinton who instigated the president’s disastrous agreement with the radical mullahs in Iran. And it was Hillary Clinton who left Americans in harm’s way in Benghazi and after four Americans fell said, what difference at this point does it make?

(AUDIENCE JEERS)

As the proud father of a United States Marine, let me say from my heart, anyone who said that, anyone who did that should be disqualified from ever serving as commander in chief of the armed forces of the United States of America!

(APPLAUSE)

Seven-and-a-half years of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton’s policies have weakened America’s place in the world. Terrorist attacks at home and abroad, grim and heartbreaking scenes from France just a few short days ago, and the attempted coup in Turkey all attest to a world spinning apart.

History teaches us that weakness arouses evil. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama’s foreign policy of leading from behind, moving red lines, feigning resets with Russia, and the rise, rule and reign of ISIS are a testament to this truth of history. We cannot have four more years apologizing to our enemies and abandoning our friends.

(APPLAUSE)

America needs to be strong for the world to be safe, and on the world stage Donald Trump will lead from strength.

(APPLAUSE)

Donald Trump will rebuild our military and stand with our allies. Donald Trump will confront radical Islamic terrorism at its source and destroy the enemies of our freedom.

(APPLAUSE)

And if the world knows nothing else, it will know this: America stands with Israel!

(APPLAUSE)

You know, if you looked at the calendar this morning you might have noticed the presidency of Barack Obama ends exactly six months from today.

(APPLAUSE)

AUDIENCE: We like Mike! We like Mike!

And this much is certain, this much is certain of the Obama years. They’re not ending well. There seems to be so many things that divide us and so few great purposes that unite us as they once did. And it’s at moments like this, moments when politics fail, that I believe we’d do well to remember that what unites us far exceeds anything that sets us apart in America.

(APPLAUSE)

That we are, as we have always been, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

(APPLAUSE)

Should I have the awesome privilege to serve as your vice president, I promise to keep faith with that conviction, to pray daily for a wise and discerning heart, for who is able to govern this great people of yours without it.

My fellow Americans, I believe we have come to another rendezvous with destiny. And I have faith, faith in the boundless capacity of the American people and faith that God can still heal our land.

(APPLAUSE)

But we have a choice to make. This is another time for choosing. If you want a president who will protect this nation, confront radical Islamic terrorism and rid the world of ISIS, if you want a president who will restore law and order to this country and give law enforcement the support and resources they deserve, if you want a president who will cut taxes, grow our economy and squeeze every nickel out of the federal bureaucracy…

(APPLAUSE)

…if you want a president who will build strong borders and enforce our laws, and if you want a president who will upend the status quo in Washington, D.C. and appoint justices to the Supreme Court who will uphold the Constitution…

(APPLAUSE)

…we have but one choice and that man is ready, this team is ready, our party is ready. And when we elect Donald Trump the 45th president of the United States, together we will make America great again!

(APPLAUSE)

Thank you, and God bless you, and God bless the United States of America!

ELECTION 2016

CAMPAIGN BUZZ 2016

Transcript: Read Full Text of Gov. Bobby Jindal’s Campaign Launch

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal launched his presidential campaign Wednesday with a speech at the Pontchartrain Center in Kenner, Louisiana.

Here is a transcript for the full remarks.

My name is Bobby Jindal, I am the Governor of the great state of Louisiana, and I am running for President of the greatest country in the world – the United States of America.

44 years ago, a young couple who had never been on an airplane before left their home on the other side of the world to come to a place called America. They had never seen it, there was no Internet to search. But they had heard the legend that there was a place in this world where the people were free, and the opportunities were real. They weren’t really coming to a geographical place, they were coming to an idea…and that idea is America.

To them, America represented all that was good in the world, where you could get ahead if you worked hard and played by the rules. A place where what matters is the content of your character, not the color of your skin, the ZIP code you were born in, or your family’s last name.

My dad grew up in a house without electricity or running water, and he was the only person in his family to get past the 5th grade. He and mom came to Louisiana because they believed in America. And when they got here they found that the legend was true. They found that the people of Louisiana accepted them. And they found that America is indeed the land of the free and home of the brave.

37 years later, my parents’ oldest son became Governor of Louisiana. It was the aftermath of Katrina, our economy was locked in a downward spiral, our biggest city was reeling, and for 25 straight years more people had left this state than had moved into it. Louisiana was in big trouble … So we had to make big changes. We had to believe in Louisiana Again. And that is exactly what we did.

We reformed our ethics laws. We went from one of the worst states to one of the best.

We privatized our outdated government-run hospital system, we reformed education, with nearly 100% charter schools in New Orleans. And now we have statewide school choice – because every child deserves an equal opportunity for a great education.

Instead of the child following the dollars … we make the dollars follow the child … because we trust parents not bureaucrats to make the best decisions for our kids.

We did what they said could not be done – we shrank our government. We cut our budget by 26%. We cut the number of government bureaucrats by more than 30,000.

It was not easy, the big government crowd fought us every step of the way. They protested. They filibustered. They even took us to court. But we won.

Today we have more people moving into Louisiana than out of it, our highest population in history. Our kids are coming home.

And now we have more people working than at any time in our state’s history, with the highest incomes in our state’s history. A job for your family and a paycheck in your mailbox are the ultimate proof your state is doing things right.

But of course, there is another side to the story – the big government crowd hates what we have done – they say we have cut government more than anyone, and that government budgets are always running low on funds with me in the Governor’s office.

My response to the big government crowd is simply this – yes. I am guilty as charged, and our state is better off for it today.

It’s time for the folks in Washington to admit the truth — You can’t grow the economy and the government at the same time. It’s an either or choice. Hillary Clinton wants to grow the government in Washington, but we want to grow the real economy out here in America.

Here’s the key difference – the Democrats evaluate success in terms of the prosperity of government. We define success in terms of the prosperity of our people.

My approach is different from most of the other people running for President.

The United States of America — was made great by people who get things done. Not lots of talk or entertaining speeches. To be sure, there are a lot of great talkers running for President already. But none of them, not one, can match our record of actually shrinking the size of government. If great speeches helped our country, we would be on easy street right now. The guy in the White House today is a great talker, and we have a bunch of great talkers running for President. We’ve had enough of talkers, it’s time for a doer. I’m not running for president to be somebody, I’m running for President to do something.

It’s easy to talk about the mess that Obama has made of our country. Every American knows about it, and every Republican candidate talks about it.

That’s not even half of what we should expect of the next President. We owe voters more than just a tirade about the problem – we owe them honesty about our solution.

I will do the things that you cannot do in Washington, and say the things you cannot say.

I served two terms in Congress so I can tell you how it works in Washington — If you want to be with the cool kids, be liked by the media, and be invited to cocktail parties, you have to accept that there are things in Washington you just cannot do.

They say you cannot reduce the size of government or the number of bureaucrats. Oh, you may be able to cut the rate of increase here and there. But they say you cannot actually cut government spending. But we can, and we will.

They say the 18 trillion dollar national debt can’t really be addressed, and it’s just part of doing business, so it’s better not to talk about it. But we can and we will.

They know Social Security and Medicare are going bankrupt, but they are afraid to do anything about it, so they deny the math and pretend everything is fine. But we can reform and save these programs and we will.

In Washington they say term limits is a quaint idea that we are naive to believe in. They think we need a permanent class of elites. It’s safer to not rock the boat. But we can rock the boat, and we will.

In Washington they know that the voters want the border secured, but they refuse to do it. But you and I can, and we will.

Finally…. They say we can’t really repeal and replace all of Obamacare. But I am the only candidate who has written a replacement plan, a free market plan that focuses on reducing costs. We can repeal Obamacare and we will.

But today’s Republican Party in Washington has been beaten into submission and is increasingly afraid to speak the truth. It’s time to say what everyone is thinking — the emperors in Washington are not wearing any clothes.

In case it’s not clear by now, I’m running for President without permission from headquarters in Washington D.C. But rest assured — I’m tanned, rested, and ready for this fight.

Here’s the truth about most politicians – They are selfish, and they are followers not leaders. They worry more about their own fate than the country’s fate. They take polls, figure out where the public is headed, and then run out front and pretend to be leading the parade.

It’s easy to be a popular politician, don’t rock the boat, kiss babies and cut ribbons, and don’t make big changes. But I will not take the easy way out. If you want someone who will pretend that everything is fine and just make some small tweaks – then you want someone else.

I will never lead from behind.

I know that some believe that I talk too much about my faith. But I will not be silenced in order to meet their expectations of political correctness.

They don’t accept the idea that you can be both intellectual and Christian. They can’t fathom the notion that you can be both smart and conservative. But, they need to get out more. There’s a big country out here with millions of Americans who believe in God and are not ashamed to say so.

I would be wary of a president who didn’t seek wisdom from the Almighty. I don’t know about you, but I’ve met many very smart people who lack wisdom. Yet Christianity is under assault today in America. But the liberals have forgotten their history. Religious liberty is not some quaint notion from the past. It is fundamental to our freedom. That’s why it is protected in the First Amendment to the Constitution. I’m going to say this slowly so that even Hillary Clinton can understand it. America did not create religious liberty, religious liberty created the United States of America.

And it’s time we stopped trying to divide ourselves against each other. Hillary Clinton is already trying to divide us by ethnicity, by gender, and by economic status. As for me, I’m sick and tired of people dividing Americans. And I’m done with all this talk about hyphenated Americans. We are not Indian-Americans, Irish – Americans, African– Americans, rich Americans, or poor Americans – we are all Americans.

While I’m at it, here’s another thing you aren’t allowed to say, but I’m going to say it anyway. We cannot allow people to immigrate to this country so that they can use our freedoms to undermine our freedoms. That’s exactly what has happened in Europe, where they have 2nd and 3rd generations of immigrants who refuse to embrace the values and culture of the countries they have moved into. We must not let that happen here.

It is not unreasonable to demand that if you immigrate to America, you must do so legally, and you must be ready and willing to embrace our values, learn English, and roll up your sleeves and get to work.

Now, let’s do something different and tell the truth about our political situation. Republicans must stop being afraid to lose. If we try to hide who we are again…we will lose again. You’ve heard Jeb Bush say that we need to be willing to lose the primary in order to win the general election. Let me translate that for you, I’m going to translate that from political-speak into plain English. He is saying that we need to hide our conservative ideals. But the truth is, if we go down that road again, we will lose again.

Let’s do something new, let’s endorse our own principles for a change and boldly speak the truth without fear.

As Republicans, we’ve already tried to appease the Left, to make the media like us better, to talk in politically correct language, to hide some of our beliefs by calling them distractions. We’ve tried to mask our conservative ideals, and we have failed.

Every Republican will say they are for school choice, shrinking government, cutting the government workforce, and getting rid of Common Core. But talk is cheap. Talk is just talk. I haven’t just talked about doing these things, I’ve actually done these things.

Every Republican will say they will fight to protect the unborn, repeal Obamacare, secure the border, and destroy ISIS. I won’t simply talk about these things, I will do these things.

It’s time to level with the American people. This President, and his apprentice-in-waiting Hillary Clinton, are leading America down the path to destruction. Economically, culturally, and internationally. But the most devastating thing they have tried to do is redefine the American Dream.

Instead of the dream being to have opportunity and freedom to control your own destiny and make your own way, their dream is for the government to take care of you and make people dependent on the government. We want to guarantee equal opportunity, but they want to guarantee equal outcomes.

The simple fact is they are trying to turn the American Dream into socialism. The folks in Washington may call that the American Dream, but out here in America, we call that the European Nightmare.
To be clear, we are not simply trying to reclaim the past, no, quite to the contrary, we are laying our claim on the future, a future where America leads the world.

This is not a cause any of us can resist. It is our destiny, it is our mission. As America goes, so goes the world. We are the light of freedom in a dark world, and it’s time we start acting like it.
I will not be intimidated from talking about the fact that radical Islam is evil and must be destroyed.

Containment is a strategy for losers. But as General George S. Patton famously observed – “Americans play to win all the time.”

Americans don’t play to lose. President Obama has it wrong, Secretary Clinton has it wrong, our allies need to trust us. Our enemies need to fear us. It’s time we play to win again.

As President I’ll have four objectives:

I will secure our borders;

I will replace Obamacare with a health care system that focuses on reducing costs and restoring freedom;

I will grow the private sector economy by shrinking the size, scope, and reach of the federal government;

And I will rebuild America’s defenses and restore our standing on the world stage.

I’m not asking you to simply join my campaign, I’m asking you to join a cause.

If you are looking for a candidate who will politely manage America’s descent into mediocrity, I’m not your man.

But… if you are chasing a dream and looking for a land where the people are free, and the opportunities are real, I’m asking you to believe.

My dad told me as a young kid that Americans can do anything. I believed him then, and I believe it now.

I know that in your heart you believe it too, I am asking you to Believe again.

ELECTION 2016

CAMPAIGN BUZZ 2016

Donald Trump’s Presidential Announcement Speech

The reality television host said he is running for President. Here are his remarks from a speech given Tuesday at Trump Tower in New York City.

Wow. Whoa. That is some group of people. Thousands.

So nice, thank you very much. That’s really nice. Thank you. It’s great to be at Trump Tower. It’s great to be in a wonderful city, New York. And it’s an honor to have everybody here. This is beyond anybody’s expectations. There’s been no crowd like this.

And, I can tell, some of the candidates, they went in. They didn’t know the air-conditioner didn’t work. They sweated like dogs.

They didn’t know the room was too big, because they didn’t have anybody there. How are they going to beat ISIS? I don’t think it’s gonna happen.

Our country is in serious trouble. We don’t have victories anymore. We used to have victories, but we don’t have them. When was the last time anybody saw us beating, let’s say, China in a trade deal? They kill us. I beat China all the time. All the time.

When did we beat Japan at anything? They send their cars over by the millions, and what do we do? When was the last time you saw a Chevrolet in Tokyo? It doesn’t exist, folks. They beat us all the time.

When do we beat Mexico at the border? They’re laughing at us, at our stupidity. And now they are beating us economically. They are not our friend, believe me. But they’re killing us economically.

Thank you. It’s true, and these are the best and the finest. When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.

But I speak to border guards and they tell us what we’re getting. And it only makes common sense. It only makes common sense. They’re sending us not the right people.

It’s coming from more than Mexico. It’s coming from all over South and Latin America, and it’s coming probably— probably— from the Middle East. But we don’t know. Because we have no protection and we have no competence, we don’t know what’s happening. And it’s got to stop and it’s got to stop fast.

Islamic terrorism is eating up large portions of the Middle East. They’ve become rich. I’m in competition with them.

They just built a hotel in Syria. Can you believe this? They built a hotel. When I have to build a hotel, I pay interest. They don’t have to pay interest, because they took the oil that, when we left Iraq, I said we should’ve taken.

So now ISIS has the oil, and what they don’t have, Iran has. And in 19— and I will tell you this, and I said it very strongly, years ago, I said— and I love the military, and I want to have the strongest military that we’ve ever had, and we need it more now than ever. But I said, “Don’t hit Iraq,” because you’re going to totally destabilize the Middle East. Iran is going to take over the Middle East, Iran and somebody else will get the oil, and it turned out that Iran is now taking over Iraq. Think of it. Iran is taking over Iraq, and they’re taking it over big league.

We spent $2 trillion in Iraq, $2 trillion. We lost thousands of lives, thousands in Iraq. We have wounded soldiers, who I love, I love — they’re great — all over the place, thousands and thousands of wounded soldiers.

And we have nothing. We can’t even go there. We have nothing. And every time we give Iraq equipment, the first time a bullet goes off in the air, they leave it.

Transcript: Read Full Text of Former Gov. Jeb Bush’s Campaign Launch

Thank you all very much. I always feel welcome at Miami-Dade College. This is a place that welcomes everyone with their hearts set on the future – a place where hope leads to achievement, and striving leads to success. For all of us, it is just the place to be in the campaign that begins today.

We are 17 months from the time for choosing. The stakes for America’s future are about as great as they come. Our prosperity and our security are in the balance. So is opportunity, in this nation where every life matters and everyone has the right to rise.

Already, the choice is taking shape. The party now in the White House is planning a no-suspense primary, for a no-change election. To hold onto power. To slog on with the same agenda under another name: That’s our opponents’ call to action this time around. That’s all they’ve got left.

And you and I know that America deserves better.

They have offered a progressive agenda that includes everything but progress. They are responsible for the slowest economic recovery ever, the biggest debt increases ever, a massive tax increase on the middle class, the relentless buildup of the regulatory state, and the swift, mindless drawdown of a military that was generations in the making.

I, for one, am not eager to see what another four years would look like under that kind of leadership.

The presidency should not be passed on from one liberal to the next.

So, here’s what it comes down to. Our country is on a very bad course. And the question is: What are we going to do about it?

The question for me is: What am I going to do about it?

And I have decided.

I am a candidate for president of the United States.

We will take command of our future once again in this country.

We will lift our sights again, make opportunity common again, get events in the world moving our way again.

We will take Washington – the static capital of this dynamic country – out of the business of causing problems.

We will get back on the side of free enterprise and free people.

I know we can fix this. Because I’ve done it.

Here, in this great and diverse state that looks so much like America.

So many challenges could be overcome if we just get this economy growing at full strength. There is not a reason in the world why we cannot grow at a rate of four percent a year.

And that will be my goal as president – four percent growth, and the 19 million new jobs that come with it

Economic growth that makes a difference for hard-working men and women – who don’t need reminding that the economy is more than the stock market.

Growth that lifts up the middle class – all the families who haven’t gotten a raise in 15 years. Growth that makes a difference for everyone.

It’s possible.

It can be done.

We made Florida number one in job creation and number one in small business creation. 1.3 million new jobs, 4.4 percent growth, higher family income, eight balanced budgets, and tax cuts eight years in a row that saved our people and businesses 19 billion dollars.

All this plus a bond upgrade to Triple-A compared to the sorry downgrade of America’s credit in these years. That was the commitment, and that is the record that turned this state around.

I also used my veto power to protect our taxpayers from needless spending.

And if I am elected president, I’ll show Congress how that’s done.

Leaders have to think big, and we’ve got a tax code filled with small-time thinking and self-interested politics. What swarms of lobbyists have done, we can undo with a vastly simpler system – clearing out special favors for the few reducing rates for all.

What the IRS, EPA, and entire bureaucracy have done with overregulation, we can undo by act of Congress and order of the president.

Federal regulation has gone far past the consent of the governed.

It is time to start making rules for the rule-makers.

When we get serious about limited government, we can pursue the great and worthy goals that America has gone too long without.

We can build our future on solvency instead of borrowed money.

We can honor our commitments on the strength of fiscal integrity.

With North American resources and American ingenuity, we can finally achieve energy security for this nation – and with presidential leadership, we can make it happen within five years.

If we do all of this, if we do it relentlessly, and if we do it right, we will make the United States of America an economic superpower like no other.

We will also challenge the culture that has made lobbying the premier growth industry in the nation’s capital.

The rest of the country struggles under big government, while comfortable, complacent interest groups in Washington have been thriving on it.

A self-serving attitude can take hold in any capital, just as it once did in Tallahassee.

I was a governor who refused to accept that as the normal or right way of conducting the people’s business.

I will not accept it as the standard in Washington.

We don’t need another president who merely holds the top spot among the pampered elites of Washington.

We need a president willing to challenge and disrupt the whole culture in our nation’s capital.

I will be that president because I was a reforming governor, not just another member of the club.

There’s no passing off responsibility when you’re a governor, no blending into the legislative crowd or filing an amendment and calling that success.

As our whole nation has learned since 2008, executive experience is another term for preparation, and there is no substitute for that.

We are not going to clean up the mess in Washington by electing the people who either helped create it or have proven incapable of fixing it.

In government, if we get a few big things right, we can make life better for millions of people, especially for kids in public schools. Think of what we all watched not long ago in Baltimore where so many young adults are walking around with no vision of a life beyond the life they know.

It’s a tragedy played out over and over and over again.

After we reformed education in Florida, low-income student achievement improved here more than in any other state.

We stopped processing kids along as if we didn’t care – because we do care, and you don’t show that by counting out anyone’s child. You give them all a chance.

Here’s what I believe.

When a school is just another dead end, every parent should have the right to send their child to a better school – public, private, or charter.

Every school should have high standards, and the federal government should have nothing to do with setting them.

Nationwide, if I am president, we will take the power of choice away from the unions and bureaucrats and give it back to parents.

We made sure of something else in Florida – that children with developmental challenges got schooling and caring attention, just like every other girl and boy. We didn’t leave them last in line. We put them first in line because they are not a problem. They are a priority.

That is always our first and best instinct in this nation filled with charitable hearts. Yet these have been rough years for religious charities and their right of conscience. And the leading Democratic candidate recently hinted of more trouble to come.

Secretary Clinton insists that when the progressive agenda encounters religious beliefs to the contrary those beliefs, quote, “have to be changed.” That’s what she said, and I guess we should at least thank her for the warning.

The most galling example is the shabby treatment of the Little Sisters of the Poor, a Christian charity that dared to voice objections of conscience to Obamacare. The next president needs to make it clear that great charities like the Little Sisters of the Poor need no federal instruction in doing the right thing.

It comes down to a choice between the Little Sisters and Big Brother, and I’m going with the Sisters.

It’s still a mystery to me why, in these violent times, the president a few months ago thought it relevant at a prayer breakfast to bring up the Crusades.

Americans don’t need lectures on the Middle Ages when we are dealing abroad with modern horrors committed by fanatics.

From the beginning, our president and his foreign-policy team have been so eager to be the history makers that they have failed to be the peacemakers.

With their phone-it-in foreign policy, the Obama-Clinton-Kerry team is leaving a legacy of crises uncontained, violence unopposed, enemies unnamed, friends undefended, and alliances unraveling.

This supposedly risk-averse administration is also running us straight in the direction of the greatest risk of all – military inferiority.

It will go on automatically until a president steps in to rebuild our armed forces and take care of our troops and our veterans.

They have my word – I will do it.

We keep dependable friends in this world by being dependable ourselves.

I will rebuild our vital friendships. That starts by standing with the brave, democratic State of Israel.

American-led alliances need rebuilding too, and better judgment is called for in relations far and near.

Ninety miles to our south, there is talk of a state visit by our outgoing president.

But we don’t need a glorified tourist to go to Havana in support of a failed Cuba.

We need an American president to go to Havana in solidarity with a free Cuban people, and I am ready to be that president.

Great things like that can really happen. And in this country of ours, the most improbable things can happen. Take that from a guy who met his first president on the day he was born, and his second on the day he was brought home from the hospital.

The person who handled both introductions is here today. She’s watching what I say – and frankly, with all these reporters around, I’m watching what she says. Please say hello to my wonderful Mom, Barbara Bush.

Long before the world knew my parents’ names, I knew I was blessed to be their son.

And they didn’t mind at all that I found my own path. It led from Texas to Miami by way of Mexico.

In 1971, 8 years before then-candidate Ronald Reagan said that we should stop thinking of our neighbors as foreigners, I was ahead of my time in cross-border outreach.

Across a plaza, I saw a girl.

She spoke only a little English. My Spanish was okay but not that great.

With some intensive study, we got that barrier out of the way in a hurry.

In the short version, it has been a gracious walk through the years with the former Columba Garnica de Gallo.

Whatever else I might or might not have going for me, I’ve got the quiet joy of a man who can say that the most wonderful friend he has in the world is his own wife.

And together, we had the not-so-quiet joy of raising three children who have brought us nothing but happiness and pride: George, Noelle, and Jeb.

The boys have also brought us more Bushes – their wives, Mandi and Sandra, and our grandchildren Georgia, Prescott, Vivian, and Jack.

Campaigns aren’t easy, and they’re not supposed to be.

And I know that there are good people running for president.

Quite a few, in fact.

And not a one of us deserves the job by right of resume, party, seniority, family, or family narrative. It’s nobody’s turn. It’s everybody’s test, and it’s wide open – exactly as a contest for president should be.

The outcome is entirely up to you – the voters. It is entirely up to me to earn the nomination of my party and then to take our case all across this great and diverse nation.

As a candidate, I intend to let everyone hear my message, including the many who can express their love of country in a different language:

ELECTION 2016

CAMPAIGN BUZZ 2016

Transcript: Full Text of Hillary Clinton’s Campaign Launch Speech

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton officially launched her presidential campaign with a rally on New York City’s Roosevelt Island.

Here is a transcript of the full remarks, as prepared for delivery:

Thank you! Oh, thank you all! Thank you so very, very much.

It is wonderful to be here with all of you.

To be in New York with my family, with so many friends, including many New Yorkers who gave me the honor of serving them in the Senate for eight years.

To be right across the water from the headquarters of the United Nations, where I represented our country many times.

To be here in this beautiful park dedicated to Franklin Roosevelt’s enduring vision of America, the nation we want to be.

And in a place… with absolutely no ceilings.

You know, President Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms are a testament to our nation’s unmatched aspirations and a reminder of our unfinished work at home and abroad. His legacy lifted up a nation and inspired presidents who followed. One is the man I served as Secretary of State, Barack Obama, and another is my husband, Bill Clinton.

Two Democrats guided by the — Oh, that will make him so happy. They were and are two Democrats guided by the fundamental American belief that real and lasting prosperity must be built by all and shared by all.

President Roosevelt called on every American to do his or her part, and every American answered. He said there’s no mystery about what it takes to build a strong and prosperous America: “Equality of opportunity… Jobs for those who can work… Security for those who need it… The ending of special privilege for the few… The preservation of civil liberties for all… a wider and constantly rising standard of living.”

That still sounds good to me.

It’s America’s basic bargain. If you do your part you ought to be able to get ahead. And when everybody does their part, America gets ahead too.

That bargain inspired generations of families, including my own.

It’s what kept my grandfather going to work in the same Scranton lace mill every day for 50 years.

It’s what led my father to believe that if he scrimped and saved, his small business printing drapery fabric in Chicago could provide us with a middle-class life. And it did.

When President Clinton honored the bargain, we had the longest peacetime expansion in history, a balanced budget, and the first time in decades we all grew together, with the bottom 20 percent of workers increasing their incomes by the same percentage as the top 5 percent.

When President Obama honored the bargain, we pulled back from the brink of Depression, saved the auto industry, provided health care to 16 million working people, and replaced the jobs we lost faster than after a financial crash.

But, it’s not 1941, or 1993, or even 2009. We face new challenges in our economy and our democracy.

We’re still working our way back from a crisis that happened because time-tested values were replaced by false promises.

Instead of an economy built by every American, for every American, we were told that if we let those at the top pay lower taxes and bend the rules, their success would trickle down to everyone else.

What happened?

Well, instead of a balanced budget with surpluses that could have eventually paid off our national debt, the Republicans twice cut taxes for the wealthiest, borrowed money from other countries to pay for two wars, and family incomes dropped. You know where we ended up.

Except it wasn’t the end.

As we have since our founding, Americans made a new beginning.

You worked extra shifts, took second jobs, postponed home repairs… you figured out how to make it work. And now people are beginning to think about their future again – going to college, starting a business, buying a house, finally being able to put away something for retirement.

So we’re standing again. But, we all know we’re not yet running the way America should.

You see corporations making record profits, with CEOs making record pay, but your paychecks have barely budged.

While many of you are working multiple jobs to make ends meet, you see the top 25 hedge fund managers making more than all of America’s kindergarten teachers combined. And, often paying a lower tax rate.

So, you have to wonder: “When does my hard work pay off? When does my family get ahead?”

“When?”

I say now.

Prosperity can’t be just for CEOs and hedge fund managers.

Democracy can’t be just for billionaires and corporations.

Prosperity and democracy are part of your basic bargain too.

You brought our country back.

Now it’s time — your time to secure the gains and move ahead.

And, you know what?

America can’t succeed unless you succeed.

That is why I am running for President of the United States.

Here, on Roosevelt Island, I believe we have a continuing rendezvous with destiny. Each American and the country we cherish.

I’m running to make our economy work for you and for every American.

For the successful and the struggling.

For the innovators and inventors.

For those breaking barriers in technology and discovering cures for diseases.

For the factory workers and food servers who stand on their feet all day.

For the nurses who work the night shift.

For the truckers who drive for hours and the farmers who feed us.

For the veterans who served our country.

For the small business owners who took a risk.

For everyone who’s ever been knocked down, but refused to be knocked out.

I’m not running for some Americans, but for all Americans.

Our country’s challenges didn’t begin with the Great Recession and they won’t end with the recovery.

For decades, Americans have been buffeted by powerful currents.

Advances in technology and the rise of global trade have created whole new areas of economic activity and opened new markets for our exports, but they have also displaced jobs and undercut wages for millions of Americans.

The financial industry and many multi-national corporations have created huge wealth for a few by focusing too much on short-term profit and too little on long-term value… too much on complex trading schemes and stock buybacks, too little on investments in new businesses, jobs, and fair compensation.

Our political system is so paralyzed by gridlock and dysfunction that most Americans have lost confidence that anything can actually get done. And they’ve lost trust in the ability of both government and Big Business to change course.

Now, we can blame historic forces beyond our control for some of this, but the choices we’ve made as a nation, leaders and citizens alike, have also played a big role.

Our next President must work with Congress and every other willing partner across our entire country. And I will do just that — to turn the tide so these currents start working for us more than against us.

At our best, that’s what Americans do. We’re problem solvers, not deniers. We don’t hide from change, we harness it.

But we can’t do that if we go back to the top-down economic policies that failed us before.

Americans have come too far to see our progress ripped away.

Now, there may be some new voices in the presidential Republican choir, but they’re all singing the same old song…

A song called “Yesterday.”

You know the one — all our troubles look as though they’re here to stay… and we need a place to hide away… They believe in yesterday.

And you’re lucky I didn’t try singing that, too, I’ll tell you!

These Republicans trip over themselves promising lower taxes for the wealthy and fewer rules for the biggest corporations without regard for how that will make income inequality even worse.

We’ve heard this tune before. And we know how it turns out.

Ask many of these candidates about climate change, one of the defining threats of our time, and they’ll say: “I’m not a scientist.” Well, then, why don’t they start listening to those who are?

They pledge to wipe out tough rules on Wall Street, rather than rein in the banks that are still too risky, courting future failures. In a case that can only be considered mass amnesia.

They want to take away health insurance from more than 16 million Americans without offering any credible alternative.

They shame and blame women, rather than respect our right to make our own reproductive health decisions.

They want to put immigrants, who work hard and pay taxes, at risk of deportation.

And they turn their backs on gay people who love each other.

Fundamentally, they reject what it takes to build an inclusive economy. It takes an inclusive society. What I once called “a village” that has a place for everyone.

Now, my values and a lifetime of experiences have given me a different vision for America.

I believe that success isn’t measured by how much the wealthiest Americans have, but by how many children climb out of poverty…

How many start-ups and small businesses open and thrive…

How many young people go to college without drowning in debt…

How many people find a good job…

How many families get ahead and stay ahead.

I didn’t learn this from politics. I learned it from my own family.

My mother taught me that everybody needs a chance and a champion. She knew what it was like not to have either one.

Her own parents abandoned her, and by 14 she was out on her own, working as a housemaid. Years later, when I was old enough to understand, I asked what kept her going.

You know what her answer was? Something very simple: Kindness from someone who believed she mattered.

The 1st grade teacher who saw she had nothing to eat at lunch and, without embarrassing her, brought extra food to share.

The woman whose house she cleaned letting her go to high school so long as her work got done. That was a bargain she leapt to accept.

And, because some people believed in her, she believed in me.

That’s why I believe with all my heart in America and in the potential of every American.

To meet every challenge.

To be resilient… no matter what the world throws at you.

To solve the toughest problems.

I believe we can do all these things because I’ve seen it happen.

As a young girl, I signed up at my Methodist Church to babysit the children of Mexican farmworkers, while their parents worked in the fields on the weekends. And later, as a law student, I advocated for Congress to require better working and living conditions for farm workers whose children deserved better opportunities.

My first job out of law school was for the Children’s Defense Fund. I walked door-to-door to find out how many children with disabilities couldn’t go to school, and to help build the case for a law guaranteeing them access to education.

As a leader of the Legal Services Corporation, I defended the right of poor people to have a lawyer. And saw lives changed because an abusive marriage ended or an illegal eviction stopped.

In Arkansas, I supervised law students who represented clients in courts and prisons, organized scholarships for single parents going to college, led efforts for better schools and health care, and personally knew the people whose lives were improved.

As Senator, I had the honor of representing brave firefighters, police officers, EMTs, construction workers, and volunteers who ran toward danger on 9/11 and stayed there, becoming sick themselves.

It took years of effort, but Congress finally approved the health care they needed.

There are so many faces and stories that I carry with me of people who gave their best and then needed help themselves.

Just weeks ago, I met another person like that, a single mom juggling a job and classes at community college, while raising three kids.

She doesn’t expect anything to come easy. But she did ask me: What more can be done so it isn’t quite so hard for families like hers?

I want to be her champion and your champion.

If you’ll give me the chance, I’ll wage and win Four Fights for you.

The first is to make the economy work for everyday Americans, not just those at the top.

To make the middle class mean something again, with rising incomes and broader horizons. And to give the poor a chance to work their way into it.

The middle class needs more growth and more fairness. Growth and fairness go together. For lasting prosperity, you can’t have one without the other.

Is this possible in today’s world?

I believe it is or I wouldn’t be standing here.

Do I think it will be easy? Of course not.

But, here’s the good news: There are allies for change everywhere who know we can’t stand by while inequality increases, wages stagnate, and the promise of America dims. We should welcome the support of all Americans who want to go forward together with us.

There are public officials who know Americans need a better deal.

Business leaders who want higher pay for employees, equal pay for women and no discrimination against the LGBT community either.

There are leaders of finance who want less short-term trading and more long-term investing.

There are union leaders who are investing their own pension funds in putting people to work to build tomorrow’s economy. We need everyone to come to the table and work with us.

In the coming weeks, I’ll propose specific policies to:

Reward businesses who invest in long term value rather than the quick buck – because that leads to higher growth for the economy, higher wages for workers, and yes, bigger profits, everybody will have a better time.

I will rewrite the tax code so it rewards hard work and investments here at home, not quick trades or stashing profits overseas.

I will give new incentives to companies that give their employees a fair share of the profits their hard work earns.

We will unleash a new generation of entrepreneurs and small business owners by providing tax relief, cutting red tape, and making it easier to get a small business loan.

We will restore America to the cutting edge of innovation, science, and research by increasing both public and private investments.

And we will make America the clean energy superpower of the 21st century.

Using additional fees and royalties from fossil fuel extraction to protect the environment…

And ease the transition for distressed communities to a more diverse and sustainable economic future from coal country to Indian country, from small towns in the Mississippi Delta to the Rio Grande Valley to our inner cities, we have to help our fellow Americans.

Now, this will create millions of jobs and countless new businesses, and enable America to lead the global fight against climate change.

We will also connect workers to their jobs and businesses. Customers will have a better chance to actually get where they need and get what they desire with roads, railways, bridges, airports, ports, and broadband brought up to global standards for the 21st century.

We will establish an infrastructure bank and sell bonds to pay for some of these improvements.

Now, building an economy for tomorrow also requires investing in our most important asset, our people, beginning with our youngest.

That’s why I will propose that we make preschool and quality childcare available to every child in America.

And I want you to remember this, because to me, this is absolutely the most-compelling argument why we should do this. Research tells us how much early learning in the first five years of life can impact lifelong success. In fact, 80 percent of the brain is developed by age three.

One thing I’ve learned is that talent is universal – you can find it anywhere – but opportunity is not. Too many of our kids never have the chance to learn and thrive as they should and as we need them to.

Our country won’t be competitive or fair if we don’t help more families give their kids the best possible start in life.

So let’s staff our primary and secondary schools with teachers who are second to none in the world, and receive the respect they deserve for sparking the love of learning in every child.

Let’s make college affordable and available to all …and lift the crushing burden of student debt.

Let’s provide lifelong learning for workers to gain or improve skills the economy requires, setting up many more Americans for success.

Now, the second fight is to strengthen America’s families, because when our families are strong, America is strong.

And today’s families face new and unique pressures. Parents need more support and flexibility to do their job at work and at home.

I believe you should have the right to earn paid sick days.

I believe you should receive your work schedule with enough notice to arrange childcare or take college courses to get ahead.

I believe you should look forward to retirement with confidence, not anxiety.

That you should have the peace of mind that your health care will be there when you need it, without breaking the bank.

I believe we should offer paid family leave so no one has to choose between keeping a paycheck and caring for a new baby or a sick relative.

And it is way past time to end the outrage of so many women still earning less than men on the job — and women of color often making even less.

This isn’t a women’s issue. It’s a family issue. Just like raising the minimum wage is a family issue. Expanding childcare is a family issue. Declining marriage rates is a family issue. The unequal rates of incarceration is a family issue. Helping more people with an addiction or a mental health problem get help is a family issue.

In America, every family should feel like they belong.

So we should offer hard-working, law-abiding immigrant families a path to citizenship. Not second-class status.

And, we should ban discrimination against LGBT Americans and their families so they can live, learn, marry, and work just like everybody else.

You know, America’s diversity, our openness, our devotion to human rights and freedom is what’s drawn so many to our shores. What’s inspired people all over the world. I know. I’ve seen it with my own eyes.

And these are also qualities that prepare us well for the demands of a world that is more interconnected than ever before.

So we have a third fight: to harness all of America’s power, smarts, and values to maintain our leadership for peace, security, and prosperity.

No other country on Earth is better positioned to thrive in the 21st century. No other country is better equipped to meet traditional threats from countries like Russia, North Korea, and Iran – and to deal with the rise of new powers like China.

No other country is better prepared to meet emerging threats from cyber attacks, transnational terror networks like ISIS, and diseases that spread across oceans and continents.

As your President, I’ll do whatever it takes to keep Americans safe.

And if you look over my left shoulder you can see the new World Trade Center soaring skyward.

As a Senator from New York, I dedicated myself to getting our city and state the help we needed to recover. And as a member of the Armed Services Committee, I worked to maintain the best-trained, best-equipped, strongest military, ready for today’s threats and tomorrow’s.

And when our brave men and women come home from war or finish their service, I’ll see to it that they get not just the thanks of a grateful nation, but the care and benefits they’ve earned.

I’ve stood up to adversaries like Putin and reinforced allies like Israel. I was in the Situation Room on the day we got bin Laden.

But, I know — I know we have to be smart as well as strong.

Meeting today’s global challenges requires every element of America’s power, including skillful diplomacy, economic influence, and building partnerships to improve lives around the world with people, not just their governments.

There are a lot of trouble spots in the world, but there’s a lot of good news out there too.

I believe the future holds far more opportunities than threats if we exercise creative and confident leadership that enables us to shape global events rather than be shaped by them.

And we all know that in order to be strong in the world, though, we first have to be strong at home. That’s why we have to win the fourth fight – reforming our government and revitalizing our democracy so that it works for everyday Americans.

We have to stop the endless flow of secret, unaccountable money that is distorting our elections, corrupting our political process, and drowning out the voices of our people.

We need Justices on the Supreme Court who will protect every citizen’s right to vote, rather than every corporation’s right to buy elections.

If necessary, I will support a constitutional amendment to undo the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United.

I want to make it easier for every citizen to vote. That’s why I’ve proposed universal, automatic registration and expanded early voting.

I’ll fight back against Republican efforts to disempower and disenfranchise young people, poor people, people with disabilities, and people of color.

What part of democracy are they afraid of?

No matter how easy we make it to vote, we still have to give Americans something worth voting for.

Government is never going to have all the answers – but it has to be smarter, simpler, more efficient, and a better partner.

That means access to advanced technology so government agencies can more effectively serve their customers, the American people.

We need expertise and innovation from the private sector to help cut waste and streamline services.

There’s so much that works in America. For every problem we face, someone somewhere in America is solving it. Silicon Valley cracked the code on sharing and scaling a while ago. Many states are pioneering new ways to deliver services. I want to help Washington catch up.

To do that, we need a political system that produces results by solving problems that hold us back, not one overwhelmed by extreme partisanship and inflexibility.

Now, I’ll always seek common ground with friend and opponent alike. But I’ll also stand my ground when I must.

That’s something I did as Senator and Secretary of State — whether it was working with Republicans to expand health care for children and for our National Guard, or improve our foster care and adoption system, or pass a treaty to reduce the number of Russian nuclear warheads that could threaten our cities — and it’s something I will always do as your President.

We Americans may differ, bicker, stumble, and fall; but we are at our best when we pick each other up, when we have each other’s back.

Like any family, our American family is strongest when we cherish what we have in common, and fight back against those who would drive us apart.

People all over the world have asked me: “How could you and President Obama work together after you fought so hard against each other in that long campaign?”

Now, that is an understandable question considering that in many places, if you lose an election you could get imprisoned or exiled – even killed – not hired as Secretary of State.

But President Obama asked me to serve, and I accepted because we both love our country. That’s how we do it in America.

With that same spirit, together, we can win these four fights.

We can build an economy where hard work is rewarded.

We can strengthen our families.

We can defend our country and increase our opportunities all over the world.

And we can renew the promise of our democracy.

If we all do our part. In our families, in our businesses, unions, houses of worship, schools, and, yes, in the voting booth.

I want you to join me in this effort. Help me build this campaign and make it your own.

It’s no secret that we’re going up against some pretty powerful forces that will do and spend whatever it takes to advance a very different vision for America. But I’ve spent my life fighting for children, families, and our country. And I’m not stopping now.

You know, I know how hard this job is. I’ve seen it up close and personal.

All our Presidents come into office looking so vigorous. And then we watch their hair grow grayer and grayer.

Well, I may not be the youngest candidate in this race. But I will be the youngest woman President in the history of the United States!

And the first grandmother as well.

And one additional advantage: You’re won’t see my hair turn white in the White House. I’ve been coloring it for years!

So I’m looking forward to a great debate among Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. I’m not running to be a President only for those Americans who already agree with me. I want to be a President for all Americans.

And along the way, I’ll just let you in on this little secret. I won’t get everything right. Lord knows I’ve made my share of mistakes. Well, there’s no shortage of people pointing them out!

And I certainly haven’t won every battle I’ve fought. But leadership means perseverance and hard choices. You have to push through the setbacks and disappointments and keep at it.

I think you know by now that I’ve been called many things by many people — “quitter” is not one of them.

Like so much else in my life, I got this from my mother.

When I was a girl, she never let me back down from any bully or barrier. In her later years, Mom lived with us, and she was still teaching me the same lessons. I’d come home from a hard day at the Senate or the State Department, sit down with her at the small table in our breakfast nook, and just let everything pour out. And she would remind me why we keep fighting, even when the odds are long and the opposition is fierce.

I can still hear her saying: “Life’s not about what happens to you, it’s about what you do with what happens to you – so get back out there.”

She lived to be 92 years old, and I often think about all the battles she witnessed over the course of the last century — all the progress that was won because Americans refused to give up or back down.

She was born on June 4, 1919 — before women in America had the right to vote. But on that very day, after years of struggle, Congress passed the Constitutional Amendment that would change that forever.

The story of America is a story of hard-fought, hard-won progress. And it continues today. New chapters are being written by men and women who believe that all of us – not just some, but all – should have the chance to live up to our God-given potential.

Not only because we’re a tolerant country, or a generous country, or a compassionate country, but because we’re a better, stronger, more prosperous country when we harness the talent, hard work, and ingenuity of every single American.

I wish my mother could have been with us longer. I wish she could have seen Chelsea become a mother herself. I wish she could have met Charlotte.

I wish she could have seen the America we’re going to build together.

An America, where if you do your part, you reap the rewards.

Where we don’t leave anyone out, or anyone behind.

An America where a father can tell his daughter: yes, you can be anything you want to be. Even President of the United States.

Transcript: Read Full Text of Rick Perry’s Campaign Launch

Thank you. I was born five years after the end of a global war that killed more than 60 million people.

I am the son of a veteran of that war, who flew 35 missions over war-torn Europe as a tail gunner on a B-17.

When dad returned home, he married mom, and they started a life together.

They were tenant farmers.

They were raised during a time of great hardship, and had little expectation beyond living in peace, putting a roof over our heads and putting food on our table.

Home was a place called Paint Creek. Too small to be called a town, but it was the center of my universe.

For years we had an outhouse, and mom bathed us in a number two washtub on the back porch. She also hand-sewed my clothes until I went off to college.

I attended Paint Creek Rural School, grades one through 12. I played 6-man football. I was a member of Boy Scout Troop 48, became an Eagle Scout, and went off to Texas A&M where I was a member of the Corps of Cadets and an animal science major.

I was proud to wear the uniform of our country as an Air Force officer and aircraft commander.

After serving, I returned home to the rolling plains and big skies of West Texas, and I returned to farming.

There is no person on earth more optimistic than a dryland cotton farmer. We always know a good rain is just around the corner, no matter how long we’d been waiting.

The values learned on my family’s cotton farm are timeless: the dignity of work, the integrity of your word, responsibility to community, the unbreakable bonds of family, and duty to country.

These are enduring values. Not the product of some idyllic past, but a touchstone of American life in our small towns, our largest cities, our booming suburbs.

I have seen American life from the red dirt of a West Texas cotton field, from a campus in College Station, from the elevated view of a C-130 cockpit, and from the Governor’s office of the Texas Capitol.

I served a small rural community in the Texas Legislature, and I led the world’s 12th largest economy.

I know that America has experienced great change, but what it means to be an American has never changed: we are the only nation in the world founded on the power of an idea that all “are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

Our rights come from God, not from government, and our people are not the subjects of government, but instead government is subject to the people.

It has always been the case that there has been a social compact between one generation of Americans and the next: to pass along an inheritance of a stronger country full of greater promise and possibility.

And that social compact has been protected at great sacrifice. This was never more clear to me than when I took my father to the American cemetery that overlooks the bluffs at Omaha beach.

On that peaceful, wind-swept setting, there lie 9,000 graves, including 45 pairs of brothers, 33 of whom are buried side by side, a father and a son, two sons of a president. They all traded their future for ours in a final act of loving sacrifice.

In that American Cemetery, it is no accident each headstone faces west: west over the Atlantic, towards the nation they defended, the nation they loved, the nation they would never come home to.

It struck me as I stood in the midst of those heroes that they look upon us in silent judgment. And that we must ask ourselves: are we worthy of their sacrifice?

The truth is we are at the end of an era of failed leadership.

We have been led by a divider who has sliced and diced the electorate, pitting American against American for political purposes.

Six years into the so-called recovery, and our economy is barely growing. This winter, it actually got smaller.

Our economic slowdown is not inevitable, it is the direct result of bad economic policy.

The president’s tax and regulatory policies have slammed shut the door of opportunity for the average American trying to climb the economic ladder, resigning the middle class to stagnant wages, personal debt, and deferred dreams.

Weakness at home has led to weakness abroad.

The world has descended into a chaos of this president’s own making, while his White House loyalists construct an alternative universe where ISIS is contained and Ramadi is merely a “setback” – where the nature of the enemy can’t be acknowledged for fear of causing offense, where the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism, the Islamic Republic of Iran, can be trusted to live up to a nuclear agreement.

No decision has done more harm than the president’s withdrawal of American troops from Iraq.

Let no one be mistaken, leaders of both parties have made grave mistakes in Iraq. But in January, 2009 – when Barack Obama became Commander-in-Chief – Iraq had been largely pacified.

America had won the war. But our president failed to secure the peace.

How callous it seems now as cities once secured with American blood are now being taken by America’s enemies, all because of a campaign slogan.

I saw during Vietnam a war where politicians didn’t keep faith with the sacrifices and courage of America’s fighting men and women, where men were ordered into combat without the full support of their civilian commanders.

To see it happen again, 40 years later, because of political gamesmanship and dishonesty, is a national disgrace.

But my friends, we are a resilient country. We have been through a Civil War, we’ve been through two world wars, we’ve made it through a Great Depression – we even made it through Jimmy Carter. We will make it through the Obama years.

The fundamental nature of this country is our people never stay knocked down. We get back up, we dust ourselves off, and we move forward. And we will again.

I want to share some important truths with my fellow Americans, starting with this truth: we don’t have to settle for a world in chaos or an America that shrinks from its responsibilities.

We don’t have to apologize for American exceptionalism, or western values.

We don’t have to accept slow growth that leaves behind the middle class, and leaves millions of Americans out of work.

We don’t have to settle for crumbling bureaucracies that target taxpayers and harm our veterans.

And we don’t have to resign ourselves to debt, decay and slow growth.

We have the power to make things new again. To project American strength again, to get our economy going again.

And that is why today I am running for the presidency of the United States of America.

It is time to create real jobs, to raise wages, to create opportunity for all. To give every citizen a stake in this country. To restore hope, real hope to forgotten Americans, millions of middle class families who have given up hope of getting ahead, millions of workers who have given up hope of finding a job.

Yes, it’s time for a reset, time to reset the relationship between government and citizen.

Think of the arrogance of Washington, DC, representing itself as some beacon of wisdom, with policies smothering this vast land with no regard for what makes each state and community unique. That’s just wrong.

We need to return power to the states, and freedom to the individual.

Today our citizens and entrepreneurs are burdened by over-regulation and unspeakable debt.

Debt is not just a fiscal nightmare, it is a moral failure. Let me speak to the millennial generation: massive debt, passed on from our generation to yours, is a breaking of the social compact.

You deserve better. I am going to offer a responsible plan to fix the entitlement system, and to stop this theft from your generation.

To those forgotten Americans drowning in personal debt, working harder for wages that don’t keep up with the rising cost of living, I come here today to say your voice is heard.

To the one in five children in families on food stamps, to the one in seven Americans living in poverty, to the one in ten workers who are unemployed, under-employed or given up hope of finding a job: I hear you, you are not forgotten.

I am running to be your president.

For small businesses on Main Street struggling to just get by, smothered by regulations, targeted by Dodd-Frank: I hear you, you’re not forgotten. Your time is coming.

The American People see a rigged game, where insiders get rich, and the middle class pays the tab.

There is something wrong when the Dow is near record highs, and businesses on Main Street can’t even get a loan.

Since when did capitalism involve the elimination of risk for the biggest banks while regulations strangle our community banks?

Capitalism is not corporatism. It is not a guarantee of reward without risk. It is not about Wall Street at the expense of Main Street.

The reason I am running for president is I know for certain our country’s best days lie ahead. There is nothing wrong in America today that cannot be fixed with new leadership.

We are just a few good decisions away from unleashing economic growth, and reviving the American Dream.

We need to fix a tax code riddled with loopholes that sends jobs overseas and punishes success.

We have the highest corporate tax rate in the western world. It is time to reduce the rate, bring jobs home and lift wages for working families.

By the time this Administration has finished with its experiment in big government, they will have added more than 600,000 pages of new regulations to the Federal Register.

On my first day in office, I will issue an immediate freeze on all pending regulations from the Obama administration. That same day, I will send to Congress a comprehensive reform and rollback of job-killing mandates created by Obamacare, Dodd-Frank and other Obama-era policies.

Agencies will have to live under strict regulatory budgets. And health insurers will have to earn the right to your money, instead of lobbying Washington to force you to hand it over.

On day one, I will also sign an executive order approving the construction of the Keystone Pipeline.

Energy is vital to our economy, and to our national security. On day one, I will sign an executive order authorizing the export of American natural gas and oil, freeing our European allies from dependence on Russia’s energy supplies.

Vladimir Putin uses energy to hold our allies hostage. If energy is going to be used as a weapon, I say America must have the largest arsenal.

We will unleash an era of economic growth, and limitless opportunity. We will rebuild American industry. And we will lift wages for American workers.

It can be done because it has been done in Texas.

During my 14 years as governor, Texas companies created almost one-third of all new American jobs.

In the last seven years of my tenure, Texas created 1.5 million new jobs. Without Texas, America would have lost 400,000 jobs.

We were the engine of growth because we had a simple formula: control taxes and spending, implement smart regulations, invest in an educated workforce, and stop frivolous lawsuits.

Texas now has the second highest high school graduation rate in the country and the highest graduation rates for African-American and Hispanic students.

We led the nation in exports, including high-tech exports. We passed historic tax relief, and I was proud to sign balanced budgets for 14 years.

We not only created opportunity, we stood for law and order.

When there was a crisis at our border last year and the president refused my invitation to see the challenge that we faced, I told him, “Mr. President, if you won’t secure the border, Texas will.”

Because of the threat posed by drug cartels and trans-national gangs, I deployed the Texas National Guard.

The policy worked. Apprehensions declined by 74 percent. If you elect me your president,
I will secure this border.

Homeland security begins with border security. The most basic compact between a president and the people is to keep the country safe.

The great lesson of history is strength and resolve bring peace and order, and weakness and vacillation invite chaos and conflict.

My very first act as president will be to rescind any agreement with Iran that legitimizes their quest to get a nuclear weapon.

Now is the time for clear-sighted, proven leadership. We have seen what happens when we elect a president based on media acclaim rather than a record of accomplishment.

This will be a “show-me, don’t tell me” election, where voters look past the rhetoric to the real record.

The question of every candidate will be this one: when have you led? Leadership is not a speech on the senate floor, it’s not what you say, it’s what you do.

And we will not find the kind of leadership needed to revitalize the country by looking to the political class in Washington.

I have been tested. I have led the most successful state in America. I have dealt with crisis after crisis – from the disintegration of a space shuttle, to Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Ike, to the crisis at the border, and the first diagnosis of Ebola in America.

I have brought together first responders, charities and people of faith to house and heal vulnerable citizens dealing with tragedy.

The spirit of compassion demonstrated by Texans is alive all across America today. While we have experienced a deficit in leadership, among the American People there is a surplus of spirit.

And among our great people, there is a spirit of selflessness – that we live to make the world better for our children, and not just ourselves.

It was said that when King George the Third asked what General Washington would do upon winning the war, he was told he would return to his farm and relinquish power. To that, the monarch replied, if he did that, he would be the greatest man of his age.

George Washington lived in the service of a cause greater than self.

If anyone is wondering if America still possesses the character of selfless heroes, I am here to say, “Yes, I am surrounded by such heroes.”

They are of different generations, but they are woven together by the same thread of selfless sacrifice.

They are heroes like Medal of Honor Recipient Mike Thornton, who survived an ambush by enemy forces in Vietnam, and made it back to the safety of a water rescue, only to find out a fellow team member had been left behind, presumed dead.

He didn’t leave though, he returned through enemy fire and retrieved Lieutenant Norris who was still alive – and then swam for two hours keeping his wounded teammate afloat until they were rescued.

Heroes like Marcus Luttrell, who survived a savage attack on the side of a mountain in Afghanistan, losing his three teammates and 16 fellow warriors shot down trying to rescue him.

He is not just the lone survivor, to Anita and me he is a second son.

And Taya Kyle, who suffered the deep loss of her husband Chris, an American hero. When I think of Taya Kyle, I think of a brave woman who carries not just the lofty burden of Chris’ legacy, but the grief of every family who has lost a loved one to the great tragedy of war, or its difficult aftermath. Anita and I want to thank her for her tremendous courage.

America is an extraordinary country. Our greatness lies not in our government, but in our people.

Each day Americans demonstrate tremendous courage. But many of those Americans have been knocked down and are looking for a second chance.

Let’s give them that chance. Let’s give them real leadership. Let’s give them a future greater than the greatest days of our past.

Let’s give them a president who leads us in the direction of our highest hopes, our best dreams and our greatest promise.

Thank you for inviting me. Mixing foreign policy and politics is an invitation I couldn’t pass up! It’s a pleasure to be here at George Mason University – which is named for one of the many great contributors to the best form of government on earth.

As prescribed by our Constitution, which George Mason helped write, we will be electing a new President in 2016. I enjoy challenges and certainly we have many facing America.

Today I am formally entering the race for the Democratic nomination for President.

If we as leaders show good judgment and make good decisions, we can fix much of what is ailing us.

We must deliberately and carefully extricate ourselves from expensive wars. Just think about how better this money could be spent.

For instance, our transportation network is deteriorating and becoming dangerous. We should be increasing our investment and priority in public schools and colleges. This is especially important in some of our cities where there is a gnawing sense of hopelessness, racial injustice and economic disparity.

We can and should do better for Native Americans, new Americans and disadvantaged Americans.

Let’s keep pushing to get health care coverage to more of the uninsured.

We can address climate change and extreme weather while protecting American jobs.

I believe that these priorities: education, infrastructure, health care, environmental stewardship, and a strong middle class are Americans’ priorities.

I am also running for President because we need to be very smart in these volatile times overseas.

I’d like to talk about how we found ourselves in the destructive and expensive chaos in the Middle East and North Africa and then offer my views on seeking a peaceful resolution.

There were twenty-three Senators who voted against the Iraq war in October 2002. Eighteen of us are still alive and I’m sure everyone of us had their own reasons for voting “NO”. I’d like to share my primary three.

The first reason is that the long painful chapter of the Viet Nam era was finally ending. This is my generation and the very last thing I wanted was any return to the horrific bungling of events into which we put our brave fighting men and women.

In fact we had a precious moment in time where a lasting peace was in our grasp. Too many senators forgot too quickly about the tragedy of Viet Nam.

A second reason was that I had learned in the nine months of the Bush/Cheney administration prior to September 11th, not to trust them at their word. As a candidate, Governor Bush had said many things that were for the campaign only- governing would be a lot different. For example a campaign staple was, “I am a uniter, not a divider”. He said very clearly that his foreign policy would be humble, not arrogant. And he promised to regulate carbon dioxide, a climate change pollutant. These promises were all broken in the very first days of his presidency.

Sadly, the lies never stopped. This was an administration not to be trusted.

My third reason for voting against the war was based on a similar revulsion to mendacity. Many of the cheerleaders for the Iraq war in the Bush administration had been writing about regime change in Iraq and American unilateralism for years.

They wrote about it in the 1992 Defense Planning Guide, in the 1996 Report to Prime Minister Netanyahu, in the 1997 Project for a New American Century and in the 1998 letter to President Clinton.

A little over a month before the vote on the war I read an article in the Guardian by Brian Whitaker. Listen to this:

“In a televised speech last week, President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt predicted devastating consequences for the Middle East if Iraq is attacked.

“We fear a state of disorder and chaos may prevail in the region”, he said. Mr. Mubarak is an old-fashioned kind of Arab leader and, in the brave new post-September-11 world, he doesn’t quite get the point.

What on earth did he expect the Pentagon’s hawks to do when they heard his words of warning? Throw up their hands in dismay? – “Gee, thanks, Hosni. We never thought of that. Better call the whole thing off right away.”

They are probably still splitting their sides with laughter in the Pentagon. But Mr. Mubarak and the hawks do agree on one thing: War with Iraq could spell disaster for several regimes in the Middle East.

Mr. Mubarak believes that would be bad. The hawks, though, believe it would be good.

For the hawks, disorder and chaos sweeping through the region would not be an unfortunate side-effect of war with Iraq, but a sign that everything is going according to plan.”

It’s bad enough that the so-called neocons, most of whom had never experienced the horror of war, were so gung ho. But worse yet, was that they didn’t have the guts to argue their points straight up to the American people. They knew there were no weapons of mass destruction but wanted their war badly enough to purposely deceive us.

After reading the Guardian article, I asked for a briefing from the CIA. I said, “I have to vote on this war resolution in a few weeks, show me everything you have on Weapons of Mass Destruction”. The answer, after an hour-long presentation out at CIA headquarters in Langley was: not much. “Flawed intelligence” is completely inaccurate. There was NO intelligence. Believe me I saw “everything they had”.

It’s heartbreaking that more of my colleagues failed to do their homework. And incredibly, the neocon proponents of the war who sold us on the false premise of weapons of mass destruction are still key advisors to a number of presidential candidates today.

Without a doubt we now have prodigious repair work in the Middle East and North Africa. We have to change our thinking. We have to find a way to wage peace. Let’s have a re-write of the neocon’s Project for a New American Century. It is essentially the opposite of everything proposed in the original. We will be honest and tell the truth. We will be a good international partner and respect international agreements.

The 70th anniversary of the United Nations is June 26th. The preamble to the UN charter says, “to unite our strength to maintain peace and security”. We can do that. “Unite our strength to maintain peace and security. Let’s reinvigorate the United Nations and make the next 70 years even better.

As part of our efforts to wage peace in this New American Century let’s be bold. Some of our bravest and most patriotic Americans are our professional diplomats stationed all over the world.

This isn’t an easy career and they deserve the very best in support and respect. As President I would institute a ban on ambassadorships for sale. That means no more of these posts going to big political donors. I want the best-trained people doing this important work. And it is critical that the integrity of the office of Secretary of State never be questioned.

I want America to be a leader and inspiration for civilized behavior in this new century. We will abide by the Geneva Conventions, which means we will not torture prisoners. Our sacred Constitution requires a warrant before unreasonable searches, which includes our phone records. Let’s enforce that and while we’re at it allow Edward Snowden to come home.

Extra judicial assassinations by drone strikes are not working. Many blame them for the upheaval in Yemen. And Pakistan is far too important a player for us to antagonize with these nefarious activities. They are not worth the collateral damage and toxic hatred they spread – let’s stop them.

For me waging peace includes negotiating fair trade agreements that set standards for labor practices, environmental protections, preventing currency manipulation and protection of intellectual property among others. The Trans Pacific Partnership has the potential to set fair guidelines for the robust commerce taking place in the Pacific Rim.

Since the breakup of the Soviet Union, many of the former Soviet Republics – especially Ukraine – have been caught in a tug of war between Europe and Russia. I believe stronger efforts should be made to encourage Russian integration into the family of advanced industrial nations with the objective of reducing tensions between Russia and its neighbors.

To wage peace in our own hemisphere, I would repair relations with Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia. As part of that rapprochement, let’s unite with all our experience to rethink the war on drugs. Obviously eradication, substitution and interdiction aren’t working. Let’s have an active, open minded approach to the drug trafficking that can corrupt everything from the courts to the banks, to law enforcement in our hemisphere. Appropriately the United Nations is planning a special General Assembly meeting next year on this subject.

In this New American Century, let’s join the many countries who have banned capital punishment. Congratulations Nebraska for your leadership here!

Earlier I said, “Let’s be bold”. Here’s a bold embrace of internationalism: let’s join the rest of the world and go metric. I happened to live in Canada as they completed the process. Believe me it is easy. It doesn’t take long before 34 degrees is hot. Only Myanmar, Liberia and the United States aren’t metric and it will help our economy!

In this New American Century it is very important to continue to have a ready and strong military. The eagle in our Great Seal holds both arrows and an olive branch. Let’s lead responsibly with a commitment to our unwavering defense and our peaceful purposes.

Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said it best: “I refuse to accept the cynical notion that nation after nation must spiral down a militaristic stairway into the hell of thermonuclear destruction.” He asked, “where do we go from here – chaos or community?”

Our challenges are many and formidable. Let’s wage peace in this New American Century.

Many of you have known me for a long time. Some of you have known me since my family lived in the back of the bar in that building. But I’m pretty sure no one here, including me, ever expected to hear me say:

I’m Lindsey Graham, and I’m running for President of the United States of America.

It’s because of you that I can make that statement.

Everything I am, and everything I will be, I owe to the kindness and generosity and example of people in Central and Clemson and Seneca and Walhalla and other towns and farms of upstate South Carolina. Thank you . . . for everything.

I want to be president to protect our nation that we all love so much from all threats foreign and domestic.

So get ready. I know I’m ready.

I want to be president to defeat the enemies trying to kill us, not just penalize them or criticize them or contain them, but defeat them.

Ronald Reagan’s policy of “peace through strength” kept America safe during the Cold War. But we will never enjoy peaceful co-existence with radical Islam because its followers are committed to destroying us and our way of life. However, America can have “Security through Strength.”

I want to be president to meet our problems head on. Honestly and realistically, for the purpose of solving them, not hiding them or taking political advantage of them.

I want to be president to make government work for you, not the other way around.

I want to make government keep its promises to you, to support your dreams, embrace your values, reflect your character.

I want to be president to help us build a future greater than our amazing past. And I’ll work with anyone to do it.

We’ve made some dangerous mistakes in recent years. The Obama Administration, and some of my colleagues in Congress, substituted wishful thinking for sound national security strategy. Every day the headlines attest to the failures of the Obama/Clinton policies.

Simply put, radical Islam is running wild.

They have more safe havens, more money, more weapons and more capability to strike our homeland than anytime since 9/11.

They are large, rich and entrenched.

As president I will make them small, poor and on the run.

I’m afraid some Americans have grown tired of fighting them. I have bad news to share with you — the radical Islamists are not tired of fighting you.

In partnership with others, we must take the fight to them, building lines of defenses over there so they can’t come here. Building up and supporting regional forces to go after their safe havens that could be used to attack our homeland.

The world is exploding in terror and violence but the biggest threat of all is the nuclear ambitions of the radical Islamists who control Iran.

If the United States isn’t firm in our intention to deny them such weapons, Iran will trigger a nuclear arms race in the least stable region on earth, and make it more likely that people who aspire to genocide will have the most effective means to commit it.

Our close ally, Israel, is at risk as a result of Obama’s failed leadership. We share values, we share democracy, and our friendship is unbreakable. To our friends in Israel, I will never abandon you. I will always stand firm in supporting the one and only Jewish state.

I too say – never again.

I am running for president because I have the experience, judgment and will to deny the most radical regimes the most dangerous weapons.

But to defeat this enemy, it will require more than military might.

The most powerful weapon in our arsenal isn’t a gun. It’s an idea. The terrorists are selling a glorious death. We must sell a hopeful life.

I’ve learned from my travels that a small schoolhouse in a remote region educating a young girl can do more damage to radical Islam than any weapon we possess.

Radical Islam is not the only threat we face, old adversaries are seizing new opportunities to challenge our interests. Putin seized Ukrainian territory, and threatens our NATO allies.

China is building – literally building – their own islands in resource rich waters claimed by other nations and challenging free navigation of the seas.

Our enemies are emboldened and our friends are going it alone. Both reactions are detrimental to our interests.

The next President must be an informed and decisive Commander-in-Chief, ready immediately to address these threats.

We’ve learned over the past six years that speeches alone won’t make us safer. Superior power and resolve will.

I’m running for President because I am ready to be Commander-in-Chief on day one.

I’m ready on day one to defend our nation with sound strategy, a strong military, stable alliances, and steady determination.

I’ve been to the Middle East more times than I can count, both in my capacity as a U.S. Senator and as a reserve officer in the United States Air Force.

I have more experience with our national security than any other candidate.

I know the players – our friends and our enemies alike. Most importantly, they know me.

I have listened, learned and prepared myself for the job of Commander-in-Chief.

I served in the Air Force for thirty-three years. I spent much of my adult life as part of a team committed to defending America.

Politicians focus on elections. The military focuses on the mission.

If given the privilege to serve as your President, I’ll focus on the mission – to defend America, protect our way of life, and leave the next generation a stronger, safer, better nation than we inherited.

That won’t be easy. It never has been.

There are dangers that must be faced, and as usual, the best of us will have to face the worst of them.

The best of us are the one-percent of Americans who are the men and women of the United States Armed Forces.

I cannot promise as Commander-in-Chief that the dangers they confront, the risks they run, the sacrifices they make will be fewer or easier.

But I can assure them they will have the leadership to defeat our enemies. I can promise them their sacrifices won’t be wasted. They won’t fight with their hands tied behind their backs.

We will end this conflict on our terms. We will win.

Those who believe we can disengage from the world at large and stay safe by leading from behind, vote for someone else. I’m not your man.

Those who believe the best way to defend ourselves is to lead the world, to make history rather than be overwhelmed by it, I ask for your support.

Join me if you want to tackle problems at home that have been kicked down the road because they’re too hard to fix and too easy to demagogue.

Washington’s failure to do the hard but right thing has put Social Security and Medicare in serious jeopardy. As my generation retires both programs are on track to go bust. We’re living longer and fewer workers are supporting more retirees. That’s unsustainable. Everybody knows it. Not everybody admits it.

We have to fix entitlement programs to make sure people who need the benefits the most receive them. That’s going to require determined presidential leadership.

I know from personal experience how important those programs are to the lives of millions of Americans. I lost my parents when I was a young man and my sister was in middle school. We depended on Social Security benefits to survive.

I’ve been fortunate. I’ve done better than I’ve ever dreamed. If I and others like me have to take a little less and pay a little more to help those who need it the most, so be it. And, younger workers might have to work a little longer.

As President, I’ll gladly do what it takes to save a program that once helped my family.

To those who yearn for a safe and healthy environment, I will join your cause. To those who seek energy independence, I will be your champion.

I’m tired of sending hundreds of billions of dollars to buy oil from people who hate us. We must have energy independence. And in the process, I believe it is possible to produce a safe, clean environment, and create new well-paying jobs for Americans of all generations.

To my fellow Republicans, I’ll be a champion for limited and effective government and a strong national defense. I’ll be a voice for social conservative values without apology or animosity. I love my party. I’m committed to see it prosper and grow.

To my friends in the other party, on the big things we share a common fate. I’ll work with you to strengthen the country we both love. Our differences are real, and we’ll debate them. But you’re not my enemy. You’re my fellow countrymen.

My enemies are those who despise our shared values, the enemies of enlightenment, the culture of death that seeks to destroy the dignity of life. We’ll fight them together with our partners. And we’ll win.

To Americans who trust neither party, I will seek the political common ground our nation so desperately needs to find.

I intend to be president not of a single party, but of a nation. I want to do more than make big government smaller. I want to help make a great nation greater.

I’ve traveled the world, and had experiences and opportunities that I never dreamed of. I’ve been lucky so much of my life, but never luckier than in the people and place I come from.

Those of you who’ve known me a long time know I had some ups and downs as a young man. I lost my parents, and had to struggle financially and emotionally. I would not have made it through those times without you, and without the example my parents set for me.

There are a lot of so-called “self-made” people in this world. I’m not one of them. My family, friends, neighbors and my faith picked me up when I was down, believed in me when I had doubts. You made me the man I am today.

I’m a man with many debts to my family, to you, to South Carolina and to the country. I’m running for president to repay those debts, to fight as hard for you as you fought for me. In the end, that’s the only promise I can make and the only pledge I’ll sign, the only one that matters.

If you make me president, I’ll fight each day harder than I fought the day before to keep this country safe, prosperous and as good as the people who made it great. I humbly ask for your support and your vote. I will work everyday to make you proud.

ELECTION 2016

CAMPAIGN BUZZ 2016

Transcript: Read Full Text of Sen. Marco Rubio’s Campaign Launch

After months of deliberation and prayer about the future of our country, I have come here tonight to make an announcement on how I believe I can best serve her.

I chose to make this announcement at the Freedom Tower because it is a symbol of our nation’s identity as the land of opportunity. And I am more confident than ever that despite our troubles, we have it within our power to make our time another American Century.

In this very room five decades ago, tens of thousands of Cuban exiles began their new lives in America. Their story is part of the larger story of the American miracle. How, united by a common faith in their God given right to go as far as their talent and work would take them, a collection of immigrants and exiles, former slaves and refugees, became one people, and together built the freest and most prosperous nation ever.

For almost all of human history, power and wealth belonged only to a select few. Most people who have ever lived were trapped by the circumstances of their birth, destined to live the life their parents had. But America is different. Here, we are the children and grandchildren of people who refused to accept this.

Both of my parents were born to poor families in Cuba. After his mother died when he was nine, my father left school to go work. My mother was one of seven girls raised by a disabled father who struggled to provide for his family.

When they were young, my parents had big dreams for themselves. But because they were not born into wealth or power, their future was destined to be defined by their past. So in 1956 they came here, to the one place on earth where the aspirations of people like them could be more than just dreams.

My father became a bartender. My mother a cashier, a maid and a Kmart stock clerk. They never made it big. But they were successful. Two immigrants with little money or education found stable jobs, owned a home, retired with security and gave all four of their children a life far better than their own.

My parents achieved what came to be known as the American Dream. But now, too many Americans are starting to doubt whether achieving that dream is still possible:

Hard working families living paycheck to paycheck, one unexpected expense away from disaster…

Young Americans, unable to start a career, a business or a family, because they owe thousands in student loans for degrees that did not lead to jobs…

And small business owners, left to struggle under the weight of more taxes, more regulations and more government.

Why is this happening in a country that for over two centuries has been defined by equality of opportunity?

Because while our people and economy are pushing the boundaries of the 21st century, too many of our leaders and their ideas are stuck in the twentieth century.

They are busy looking backward, so they do not see how jobs and prosperity today depend on our ability to compete in a global economy. So our leaders put us at a disadvantage by taxing, borrowing and regulating like it’s 1999.

They look for solutions in yesterday, so they don’t see that good-paying modern jobs require different skills and more education than the past. They blindly support an outdated higher education system that is too expensive and inaccessible to those who need it most.

And they have forgotten that when America fails to lead, global chaos inevitably follows, so they appease our enemies, betray our allies and weaken our military.

At the turn of the 19th century, a generation of Americans harnessed the power of the Industrial Age and transformed this country into the leading economy in the world. And the 20th century became the American Century.

Now, the time has come for our generation to lead the way toward a new American Century.

If we reform our tax code, reduce regulations, control spending, modernize our immigration laws and repeal and replace ObamaCare, the American people will create millions of better-paying modern jobs.

If we create a 21st century system of higher education that provides working Americans the chance to acquire the skills they need, that no longer graduates students with mountains of debt and degrees that do not lead to jobs, and that graduates more students from high school ready to work, then our people will be prepared to seize their opportunities in the new economy.

If we remember that family – not government – is the most important institution in society, that all life deserves protection, and that all parents deserve to choose the education that’s right for their children, then we will have a strong people and a strong nation.

And if America accepts the mantle of global leadership, by abandoning this administration’s dangerous concessions to Iran, and its hostility to Israel; by reversing the hollowing out of our military; by giving our men and women in uniform the resources, care and gratitude they deserve; by no longer being passive in the face of Chinese and Russian aggression; and by ending the near total disregard for the erosion of democracy and human rights around the world; then our nation will be safer, the world more stable, and our people more prosperous.

This election is not just about what laws we will pass. It is a generational choice about what kind of country we will be.

Just yesterday, a leader from yesterday began a campaign for President by promising to take us back to yesterday.

But yesterday is over, and we are never going back. We Americans are proud of our history, but our country has always been about the future. Before us now is the opportunity to author the greatest chapter yet in the amazing story of America.

We can’t do that by going back to the leaders and ideas of the past. We must change the decisions we are making by changing the people who are making them.

That is why today, grounded by the lessons of our history, and inspired by the promise of our future, I announce my candidacy for President of the United States of America.

My candidacy might seem improbable to some watching from abroad. In many countries, the highest office in the land is reserved for the rich and powerful. But I live in an exceptional country where even the son of a bartender and a maid can have the same dreams and the same future as those who come from power and privilege.

I recognize the challenges of this campaign, and the demands of the office I seek. But in this endeavor as in all things, I find comfort in the ancient command to, “Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

I have heard some suggest that I should step aside and wait my turn. But I cannot. Because I believe our very identity as an exceptional nation is at stake, and I can make a difference as President.

I am humbled by the realization that America doesn’t owe me anything; but I have a debt to America I must try to repay. This isn’t just the country where I was born; America is the place that changed my family’s history.

I regret my father did not live to see this day in person. He used to tell me all the time: En este pais, ustedes van a poder lograr todas las cosas que nosotros no pudimos.

“In this country, you will achieve all the things we never could.”

On days when I am tired or discouraged, I remember the sound of his keys jingling at the front door of our home, often well past midnight, as he returned from another long day at work. When I was younger, I didn’t fully appreciate all he did for us, but now as my own children grow older, I fully understand.

My father was grateful for the work he had, but that was not the life he wanted for his children. He wanted all the dreams he once had for himself to come true for us. He wanted all the doors that closed for him to be open for me.

My father stood behind a small portable bar in the back of a room for all those years, so that tonight I could stand behind this podium in the front of this room.

That journey, from behind that bar to behind this podium, is the essence of the American Dream.

Whether or not we remain a special country will depend on whether that journey is still possible for those trying to make it now:

The single mother who works long hours for little pay so her children don’t have to struggle the way she has…

The student who takes two buses before dawn to attend a better school halfway across town…

The workers in our hotel kitchens, the landscaping crews in our neighborhoods, the late-night janitorial staff that clean our offices … and the bartenders who tonight are standing in the back of a room somewhere…

If their American Dreams become impossible, we will have become just another country. But if they succeed, the 21st Century will be another American Century. This will be the message of my campaign and the purpose of my presidency.

To succeed on this journey, I will need your prayers, your support, and ultimately, your vote. Tonight I am asking you to take that first step with me, by joining us at marcorubio.com.

My wife Jeanette and my four children are here tonight. The next 19 months will take me far from home. I will miss watching Amanda run track, Daniella play volleyball, Anthony play football and Dominick play soccer.

But I have chosen this course because this election is about them. Theirs is the most important generation in American history. If we can capture the promise of this new century they will be the freest and most prosperous Americans ever. But if we fail, they will be the first generation of Americans to inherit a country worse off than the one left for their parents.

The final verdict on our generation will be written by Americans not yet born. Let us make sure they record that we made the right choice. That in the early years of this century, faced with a rapidly changing and uncertain world, our generation rose to face the great challenges of our time.

And because we did, there was still one place in the world where who you come from does not determine how far you can go.

Because we did, the American miracle lived on.

And because we did, our children and theirs lived in a new American Century.

Election 2016

About the Editor

Bonnie K. Goodman, BA, MLIS is a journalist, librarian, editor, & historian. She has a BA in History & Art History, and a Masters in Library and Information Studies both from McGill University, and has done graduate work in Jewish history at Concordia University as part of the MA in Judaic Studies. She wrote regularly about politics, news, education, and Judaism for Examiner.com until the publication closed in July 2016. She is the editor of History Musings... History, News & Politics, which covers the Presidency, Congress, and history news. She has previously covered the 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016 Presidential campaigns & 2010 and 2014 midterm elections. She was also the former Editor/Features Editor for the History News Network (HNN), and had been working for HNN from 2004-2010.... READ MORE

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